Freetown, Nov. 20, 06 (MOHS) – The two week training for Nursing Staff of the Princess Christian Maternity and Ola During Children’s hospitals which aimed at reducing the incidence of maternal and child mortality in the two hospitals has ended with the Keynote Speaker and Specialist Gynaecologist Consultant, Dr. Ibraham David Thorlie appealing to the entire staff to make the two institutions a Baby-friendly entity for mothers and children.
The training which among other issues has its focus on Malnutrition as one major cause of child mortality and the way forward to address Infant Feeding and Weaning, attracted State Enrolled Community Health Nurses, Midwives, Nursing Aides and Pupil nurses.
Delivering his closing address on behalf of the Director General of Medical Services, Consultant Gynecologist of the PCM Hospital, Dr. Thorlie expressed the need for the training to be seen as a challenge to complement the Ministry of Health efforts to achieve the fourth and fifth Millennium Development Goals which concerns maternal and child health care.
He said it is only by doing so through ethical commitment and patriotism that they would be complementing government’s effort in fighting against what he referred to as the “unwarranted status of the UN Human Index Report on the country.
Dr. Thorlie reminded the nurses that as part of the Ministry, their responsibility could either make or destroy their own place of livelihood through negligence or efficient service delivery while discharging their duties, and encouraged them to live according to the ethics of the profession.
The Consultant reiterated that policies on health should be articulated by health providers for positive implementation, hoping that the training would give the nurses a fresh initiative towards promoting Exclusive Breast Feeding, and the education on the importance of food and nutrition in their different communities.
The Programme Manager of the Health Ministry’s National Food and Nutrition Programme Miss Sylvetta Scott noted that the prevalence rate of nutrition is growing and stressed the need for more positive approach in addressing the key factors such as poverty and ignorance.
Miss Scott said she was impressed with the participation of the nurses and encouraged them to impart the knowledge gained to their colleagues.
Making his remarks,the Care Manager of the Ola-During Children’s Hospital and Chairman for the occasion, Dr. Muctar Jalloh admonished participants to make the year 2007 to what he referred to as a year of a difference in terms of child health education to mothers.
Dr. Jalloh said it is an acceptable phenomenon that malnutrition is a problem and seriously affects the growth of children in our society, hoping that the nurses would see the lessons learnt as an ethical discipline for posterity.
Participants at the end of the training recommended that regular refresher training to update their knowledge be instituted, that the use of feeding bottles in hospitals be discouraged to allow exclusive breast feeding after delivery, that special training for staff be made for outreach programmes, and mobility enhanced for effective monitoring and supervision. The provision of adequate therapeutic feed centres countrywide, and the extension of the training to the provinces also formed part of the recommendations.
