THE members of National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Kwara State chapter yesterday deplored the imminent dearth of personnel in the state’s owned government hospitals, citing poor remunerations of their members in the employment of the state government.
According to the NANNM members during the grand finale of the celebrations of this year’s International Nurses Week in Ilorin the state capital, over 80 per cent of their colleagues always seek for greener pastures in adjoining states which allegedly paid better salaries compared to their meagre salary scales in Kwara.
The nurses through their Chairman, Mr Joseph Adekanye said, “I wish to attest to the fact that over the years the state government had invested Billions of Naira in the infrastructural development in the health sector but the overall welfare of our members is absolutely neglected in terms of their take home pays and overall welfare.
“It is highly frustrating and depressive when compared with other sister state like Niger which falls within North Central geo political zone as Kwara. We believe our listening Governor (Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed) will in no distant time in this regard bring succor and hope to the hopeless and flesh up in skeleton of our members. ”
For Adekanye, “it is no gain saying mentioning that as much as the Government is trying to cushion the effects of shortage of manpower in the Health sector with particular reference to Nurses and Midwives through strategic and continuous recruitment, the effect of such is not practically felt in our various health facilities. The reason
being that most of them often use the recruitment as a stepping stone for greener pastures in neighbouring states.”
But the state’s Commissioner for Health Alhaji Suleiman Atolagbe Alege described the statement as untrue noting that the state remained one of the very few ones in Nigeria “that is just not paying well its workers but effecting The payment as at when due.
The NANNM celebrates its Week yearly in honour of Miss Florence Nightingale, popularly known as “The Lady with the Lamp” and the pioneer of the Nursing profession. Nightingale a Victorian Aristocrat was on May 13 1820 born to the family of Fanny and William Nightingale. She came into prominence during the Cimean War by leading a medical team to treat the injured soldiers and civilians with uncommon bravery, passion and dedication.
Adekanye reminisced on the “verbal promise” of Ahmed who had in the year 2011 allegedly pledged prompt implementation of the 100 per cent Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) when the Federal Monthly Allocation rose to three billion Naira.
He added; “we have watched with keen interest over the years the statutory Federal Allocations to the state and the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state making us to conclude that the Governor could afford to pay over 100 per cent CONHESS as against the present 50 per cent.”
Citing the 1981 Industrial Arbitration Award the local NANNM’s leader said that Nursing as a Profession is ‘Sui generis’; (subject to no direction whatsoever by any profession so ever except in so far as it forms part of an organic whole), Adekanye said it was mandatory for all leaders of the association to tenaciously defend the implementation of the Award.
Adekanye noted; “there is no document, law or circular anywhere in this country that restrains a qualified Midwife, licensed by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria from carrying out Ante-natal care, normal delivery, giving of episitomy and suturing of same and so on.
“These are practically basic midwifery skills but we fold our hands and allow other professional group to technically steal our birthright and make us irrelevant to our professional calling. Please watch out. ”
Deploring rising cases of quackery and professional miscinduct among some members of the association, he said the disciplinary unit of the union would henceforth commence immediate disciplinary measures against such identified personnel.
Kehinde Akinpelu, Ilorin
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