Nurses/Midwives Strike: No Skeletal Service – Progress

As The Seven Strike Action embarked upon by Nurses and Midwives intensifies, the Chairman of Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Federal Medical Center (FMC), Yenagoa, Liberia Woyengibarafagha Progress has declared that there will be no skeletal services as long as the warning strike lasts.

Progress who led the enforcement team at FMC on Wednesday said that the group was making demands asking that the government should provide their demands.

He said: “This strike is a total shut down, no plan for skeletal services, this strike has to do with federal, state and local government nurses nationwide, and currently, the hospital has discharge so many of their patients, we don’t have patients at the wards, so even the patients are suffering now.

“We have nine point demands, in Nigeria, they said nurses should not travel out of the country, and we have been suffering all these while taking care of our patients and we have been doing our best. At this point we are asking the government to give us our needs, so that we can also take care of our patients.

“Our demands are, government should gazette our nursing scheme of service. We are asking for the implementation of industrial act, 2012, upward review of professional allowance for nurses and midwives, employment of more nursing personnel and adequate provision of health facilities and equipment.

“Currently, if you look at the hospitals, most times you don’t have equipment, it is even hard for government to even provide light for us in the hospital environment We have been suffering to take care of our patients, we are saying no. Enough is enough.

“We are also asking for the creation of nursing department, in the federal ministry, nursing department is not there, everything boils down to one particular department, which I don’t want to mention, but we the nurses know that we are the majority in the health sector, and we are not being recognized in Nigeria. In other countries, they recognize nurses and we are not being recognized here.

“We are also asking for inclusion of nurses in the headship of health policy. What I mean is that most of our boards, nurses are not there, and we form the heart of the health sector, and we are not being included. How do we take decisions? It’s only in few states in Nigeria, that they always appoint nurses as Commissioner for health.

“We are also asking for centralization of internship posting for graduates nurses. Federal Government should take over the internship posting for nurses as it’s done for doctors. We are also asking for consultancy cadre for nurses. There should be nurse consultants and nurse practitioners.”

Also speaking, the National Treasurer of NANNM, Federal Health institution Sector and South South zonal Coordinator, Amos Ombufa I his reaction, said after the seven days warning strike in accordance with the labour law, the Union will also give the Federal Government another 21 days ultimatum to meet the needs of the nurses, stating that if at the end of ultimatum, the demands are not met, they will proceed on indefinite strike.

He continued “I urge nurses not to relent, we should press home our demands, as we are speaking, all the federal hospitals across the nation are totally shut down, especially in the South South zone where I’m in charge, there is total compliance, there is no provision for skeletal services.”

The Public Relations Officer at the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, Akpedi Bernard, reacting to the action described it as being unfortunate.

“With regards to strike declared by NANNM, it’s unfortunate and at the management level here, we are not happy about it. FMC Yenagoa, is the only tertiary federal health facility in Bayelsa State and we have the responsibility of taking care of more than 70% health care needs of the people. It is the only principal referral centre that we have here too, so when strike occurs like this, it really affects us negatively.

“However, the management envisaged the strike and put the house together by way of mobilizing the doctors to see the skeletal services they could provide. Of course, the very senior nurses, those at the management cadre will support too, so that those with very critical health needs will be attended to and maybe some very urgent cases that may come too, while the strike is ongoing.”

Of course, Patients were stranded at various public health facilities as public hospitals in Yenagoa abruptly discharged people.