Nurses and Midwives Week 2026 at UGMC (19th–22nd May) was a combination of celebration and scientific knowledge. It also featured the launch of the First Biennial Scientific Conference, which focused on quality, safety, compassion, and value-based sustainable healthcare.
Compassion has economic value – Registrar of NMC to UGMC Nurses and Midwives
The 2026 Nurses and Midwives Week at the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC), recently held from 19th to 22nd May 2026 at the Centre, was a blend of unforgettable celebrations and the spread of scientific knowledge.
The week was celebrated under the theme: “Translating Nursing and Midwifery Quality, Safety and Compassionate Care Outcomes into Value-Based and Economically Sustainable Care.”
The Chief Executive Officer of UGMC, Dr. Abdul-Samed Tanko, who launched the celebrations, stated that “nursing is not a support function at the margins of care, but the very foundation of patient safety in every healthcare system.”
The Director of Medical Affairs of the Centre, Dr. Baffoe-Gyan, reinforced this message by stressing that “when nursing is strong, the entire health care system becomes stronger,” adding that “sustainable healthcare is built on collaboration, not separation.”
Other management members of the Centre who delivered goodwill messages included the Director of Operations, Dr. Mrs. Lucy Ofori-Ayeh; Director of Technical Services and Support Services, Mr. Abraham Asare-Bediako; and Ms. Barbara O-Hemeng, Head of Client Services and Public Relations.
In her address, the Director of Nursing and Midwifery Services of UGMC, Ms. Judith Asiamah, stated that nurses and midwives are no longer content with being seen only at the bedside and stressed that “nurses and midwives must be present where decisions are made, where policies are shaped, and where evidence is translated into action.”
In an address, the Registrar of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Ghana, Ms. Philomena Woolley, stated that in nursing, quality is a moral obligation while safety and compassion are the minimum standards. Ms. Woolley added that a study published in the Journal of Nursing Management had revealed that compassion, although considered a soft skill, produced hard outcomes by reducing patient anxiety, enhancing trust and communication, minimizing litigation and complaints, and improving staff retention—thereby playing an economically strategic role.
Speaking about the maiden biennial scientific conference, which was part of the celebrations, Ms. Woolley stated that the conference represented a shift from practice informed by tradition to practice informed by evidence, which would provide the platform for knowledge generation, research dissemination, policy influence, and professional collaboration.
Some of the abstracts presented by the nurses and midwives of the Centre included: Factors influencing the delay in seeking specialist care for degenerative musculoskeletal diseases at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital by Solace Rose Fiagbey, RGN, NS, Department of Orthopaedics; Pain Management in neonates: Nurses’ perspective by Gloria Hannah Amanor; Assessment of the knowledge, attitude and perception of nurses towards online continuing professional development programmes at the University of Ghana Medical Centre by Thelma Klewiah, RGN, Paediatric Surgery; Non-adherence to the Surgical Safety Checklist among theatre staff at the University of Ghana Medical Centre Ltd (UGMC) by Yvonne Gyamea Agyare, RGN, PON, FGCNM, and Judith Naa Klorkor Asiamah, RGN, RM, PON, FGCNM, Nursing Directorate; Non-adherence to the Surgical Safety Checklist among theatre staff at the University of Ghana Medical Centre Ltd. by Faustina Chapirah, RGN, SPOCN, Department of Theatres; Exploring the psychotherapeutic interventions for breast cancer-associated mastectomy at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi by Maryjane Uche Amadigwe, RGN, NS1, and Dr. Delali Adwoa Wuaku, PhD, Department of Neurosurgery; Utilization of the Glasgow Coma Scale by the nurses at the University of Ghana Medical Centre; and Introduction of Standardized Obstetric Triage Assessment Form at the UGMC by Susan Tiwaa, RM, Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology.
Regarding nursing quality and safety, Ms. Woolley also added that the Council was keen on maintaining quality and value in nursing care and so it had reintroduced the revalidation policy to ensure that nurses and midwives in the country maintained continuous competence through lifelong learning and professional development. She added that the Council was further advancing post-basic specialist training in critical areas such as emergency nursing, oncology and endocrinology, among others, and further stated that the Council was very passionate about addressing issues of professional misconduct and incompetence early to reduce medical errors, legal costs, and system inefficiencies.
In her remarks, the representative of the Ministry of Health, Evelyn Amoako, stated that compassion and documentation demonstrated by nurses translated into effective care at the bedside.
The UGMC Nurses’ Cloth was also officially launched to foster identity, unity, and pride among nurses and midwives of the Centre, after which the second edition of the Nurses’ Magazine was also launched, followed by a moving tribute to Florence Nightingale, honouring the legacy upon which modern nursing is built.