The Chairman of National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives Council of Nigeria (NANNM), Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex (OAUTHC), Chapter, Nurse Lawrence Oyeniyi, has said that the association is joining the seven-day nationwide strike.
Oyeniyi made this known during an interview with newsmen on Ile-Ife.
He explained that nursing profession is a discipline one that cares for the sick, preventing illness, promoting healthcare services, rehabilitation of sick, provide palliative care where cure is impossible among others.
According to him, Nurses are not strike hunger because they value lives and take good care of human beings like themselves, for they are human too.
The Chairman condemned the lackadaisical attitude of the Federal Government towards their caring in terms of renumeration, salary package, recruitment of staff and other allowances requested for, for years.
“Nurses are the largest workforce in health sector, always at the forefront, put our lives on lifeline, but our welfare always neglected by the government for they always abandoned us.
“Upward of Nurses allowances, government has not done much on that area, transport allowance need to be increase, shortage of nurses all over the general hospitals across the country in which OAUTHC not excluded.
“The last recruitment at OAUTHC was 2022, few nurses attending to large number of patients at a time which affects the healthcare services of many.
“The nurses are sidelined in health decision making which is affecting overall quality healthcare services, equipment and consumables are not available at the hospitals”, Oyeniyi explained.
Oyeniyi maintained that they’ve given Federal Government 15-day ultimatum, but did not ready to reconcile with nurses and failure to do the needful will lead to indefinite strike.
The Chairman stressed that the strike is all about nurses demanding for their rights and Federal Government should hold responsible for any adverse effects on patients.
We appealed to Federal government to look at the demands critically and approve what’s due to them, should make life comfortable for nurses of which they took deserve cares.
The Chairman emphasised that they too pay for health, education and other bills, so Federal Government should provide basic amenities that’ll make working environments and lives comfortable.
One of the patients at Orthopedic male ward, Mr Taiwo Adesanmi, condemned the present situation of healthcare services across the country.
Adesanmi said that, because our leaders are capable of patronising private and foreign hospitals make them neglect their duties of cares for the masses.
He appealed to the Federal Government to have mercy on the citizenry who cannot afford private hospital bill by expedite action the demands of nurses on time for them to resume without delay.
