Covid-19: NANNM seeks safety, welfare of nurses, midwives

The National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) has said that the safety of health workers was critical to the country’s containment strategy for COVID-19 pandemic.

Mrs. Blessing Israel, the Lagos state chairman of NANNM, said this in an interview on Sunday in Lagos.

Israel explained that safety of the members of the association was crucial to the successful handling of the pandemic, adding that it was painful that three nurses in Lagos state have tested positive to COVID-19 already.

She said the three nurses were infected with the virus during the discharge of their duties at Alimosho General Hospital, noting that many others were on self-quarantine.

The NANNM leader maintained that adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) should be made available to health workers who were at the frontline fighting the pandemic without further delay.

She lamented that reports from many members of the association had shown complicity of hoarding and disparity in the release of PPE by some hospital management.

“Will you send a military man to the war front without adequate weapons? The PPE is our own form of weapon in the war against COVID-19 spread.

“A situation where nurses are given three pairs of gloves at the emergency room for treatment of patients throughout the day is not acceptable.

“At times, a health worker can use a whole pack of gloves on a patient depending on how critical the condition of the patient is. So how can you now expect them to function effectively with just three pairs,’’ she said.

She also said that the association had directed its members to reject the use of nylon as PPE, noting that assessment of conditions of members at most health facilities were appalling.

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The NANNM leader also appealed to the management of health facilities to arrange easy transportation, consumables, and feeding for nurses, noting that most nurses now ran between 24 to 48 hours duty in different health care facilities.

According to her, the association’s visit to Ebute Metta Health Centre and Ibeju Lekki Hospital revealed that the facilities lack water and electricity.

She expressed displeasure that the hospitals were still operating full service without scaling down at a period the state was battling to halt community transmission of the pandemic.

She therefore, urged residents to adhere to the stay at home order, maintain social distancing, personal and environmental hygiene and regular hand washing practices to prevent spread of the disease.

Israel however, restated the commitment of the members of the association to continually discharge their duties in the ongoing fight against the disease.