‘General Arts’ has now taken over Twitter trends in Ghana after a comment made by the Ashanti Regional Director of the National Service Scheme, NSS; Mr. Alex Opoku-Mensah.
The embattled public official is under criticism for verbally assaulting a nurse at the Manhyia District Hospital where he was captured on tape verbally attacking a staff nurse.
In the said audio recording of the incident, the NSS director is heard hurling insults and threats at a nurse for allegedly intimidating his daughter, who is a house officer at the hospital.
He is heard questioning the qualification of the nurse,
“Stupid idiot, tell them, I’m very happy you are here, you don’t respect, that your stupid nursing that you went to do, you’re mad, that your General Arts that you went to do, if you did science, you’re a disappointed nurse, stupid, foolish, foolish girl, you don’t respect.”
The nurse's qualification comment, in which he allegedly referred to her as a General Arts student, has since gone viral on social media with the hashtag #GeneralArts.
A social media user by the name, Akrobeta @esitheeboss wrote “I don’t know why general arts students working at hospitals are looked down upon. They will ask you your course of study there norr fa no k) records.”
Another user also tweeted, “but truth be told, I don’t think general arts students should be admitted into nursing training colleges. General arts students are not allowed to study medicine, so why are they allowed to study medicine in nursing?” Ezequiel@eapasera asked.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) has called for the sacking of Mr Alex Poku from office.
According to the association, the conduct of the Regional NSS Director at the Manhyia Hospital makes him unfit to occupy the position.
The association has warned that it will recall the services of its members at the hospital if the government fails to heed the demand for his dismissal within 72 hours.
And on the other hand, Mr. Alex Opoku-Mensah has rendered an unqualified apology to the general public for his behaviour, in an apology shared on his Facebook page, Alex Poku-Mensah stated that what happened was not his style.
“I understand the disappointment and appreciate the inconvenience my action has caused the general public as well as the nursing fraternity and Manhyia Hospital.
“This has never been my style but for a genuine reason to mediate a persistent issue between my daughter (doctor) and a colleague nurse who I as well consider my daughter,” he wrote.
He described what happened as a ‘mishap’ and asked for forgiveness.
Read some of the tweets below:
AM/BOG
Alex Poku-Mensah is the NSS director in the Ashanti Region