The Nursing and Midwifery Council has been in operation for the past 35 years under the statutory mandate of the N.R.C.D 117 of 1972 and L.I. 683 of 1971. This legislation is under review in 2011. The Council is an agency of the Ministry of Health. It has a twenty one (21) member Governing Board, which is headed by a Chairperson. It is administratively managed by a Registrar / Chief Executive Officer.

Statutorily, the Council is specifically responsible for [section 4(2)]:

1)     Prescribing the conditions for registration of nurses and midwives and for granting of certificates and badges to qualified nurses and midwives;

2)     the establishment of a system of training of nurses and midwives;

3)     the selection of the subjects in which persons seeking to qualify as nurses or midwives may be examined;

4)     The establishment of courses of instruction for student nurses or midwives;

5)     the admission, subject to such conditions as the Council may prescribe of students to pursue courses of instruction leading to qualification as nurses and midwives; and

6)     the examination of student nurses and midwives (for their professional licensing).

Other Responsibilities of the Council

In addition to the above mandates, the other responsibilities and duties of the Council include the following:

1)     verification of registration / licensing (foreign and local);

2)     orientation of foreign-trained nurses and midwives into the Ghanaian setting;

3)     support supervision of nurses and midwives at both public and private health facilities; and

4)     supervision and inspection of nursing and midwifery training schools and health facilities.

http://www.nmcgh.org/about.html   (accessed on 20.06.2011)