By CATHERINE NYIRENDA –
THE General Nursing Council (GNC) has ordered the police to immediately close the African Health Care Institute of Health Sciences and other private institutions offering courses in nursing assistants without its authority.
The GNC is disappointed that the African Health care Institute of Health Science had defied Governments directive to stop training nurses without authorisation.
GNC registrar Universe Mulenga said in an interview that the council directed the institution to stop training any cadre in nursing related courses as it did not have the licence to do so.
“The institute had no authority to train people in nursing assistance without our permission and we ordered management at the institution to wind up its operations and follow lied down procedures of training such cadres,” she said.
She said for an institution to start training cadres in nursing assistance or any related courses, it had to apply to the council which later made assessment and inspections  of the premises to establish suitability for such services.
He said there was no private institution in the country that had been given a licence to train nursing assistants.
He further explained that such courses are only offered at Mwachisopola and Ndola Hospital.
Health Deputy Minister Chitalu Chilufya recently ordered for the closure of African Health Care institute of Health sciences for training nursing assistants illegally.
However, the college defied the orders claiming that they had entered into the Memorandum of Understanding with Government to offer the course.
But after investigations, it was discovered that the MoU entered into with Government did not include training of nursing assistants.