The Adeoyo Hospital in Ibadan has discharged patients on admission, following the nationwide strike by the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), which began on Wednesday.
The association directed its members to start a seven-day warning strike following the Federal Government’s failure to respond to their demands.
Some of the demands of the nurses are the upward review of shift allowance, uniform allowance adjustment, a separate salary structure for nurses, increased core duty allowance.
Also included in the demands are mass employment of nurses, and the establishment of a nursing department in the Federal Ministry of Health among others.
A visit by a NAN correspondent to Adeoyo State Hospital, Ring Road, Ibadan, showed that many of the wards had no patients on admission at the hospital.
The correspondent was informed that the patients were discharged with just a few in critical condition still on the wards, but with no nurses to attend to them.
A relative of one of the patients at the female ward, Mr Adegoke Rahman, said some of the patients in the ward were told to go home due to the nurses’ strike.
Rahman said that his mother, who was still at the hospital ward, just had an operation on her leg and could not walk or use it to stand.
He said that doctors were the ones attending to them and no nurse was presently working at the hospital.
Also, Mr Samuel Biyi, an out patient, said that he came to the hospital to treat a wound on his leg and was not attended to.
He said that the leg was seriously paining him.
One of the doctors on duty, who pleaded that his name shouldn’t be published, said that doctors and other medical personnel were not on strike and were attending to patients.
He, however, said that the hospital was not currently taking patients on admission, but attending to out patients.
The doctor said that any patient with critical condition not admitted were referred to private hospitals for treatment.
He said that the patients on admission had been told to go home since yesterday because of the nurses’ strike.
It would be recalled that the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Oyo State chapter, dieected its members to comply with the seven- day nationwide warning strike starting from Wednesday.
The Oyo State NANNM Secretary, Comrade Emmanuel Aina, made this known in a statement on Tuesday.
Aina said the decision arose from the resolution of the emergency meeting of the National Executive Council of NANNM and subsequent directive received from NANNM National Headquarters.
Nurses’ strike disrupts services in Bayelsa
Similarly, public hospitals in Bayelsa State on Wednesday abruptly discharged patients as nurses across Nigeria commenced a seven-day warning strike to demand improved working conditions and welfare.
The strike, declared by the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), disrupted normal operations at major public health facilities in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, as union leaders monitored compliance.
When a NAN correspondent visited the Primary Health Centre in Amarata community, the facility remained closed as of 11 a.m. Locals attributed the closure to the ongoing strike.
At the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Yenagoa, only a few patients were seen wandering around the wards without receiving medical attention.
Some patients said they had been waiting to see doctors since 8 a.m., while others with scheduled appointments were left unattended.
Mr Liberia Progress, Chairman of NANNM at FMC Yenagoa, led the enforcement team at the hospital and confirmed that no skeletal services would be available during the strike.
He stated, “We have nine key demands. In Nigeria, nurses are discouraged from traveling abroad, yet we are underappreciated at home in spite of our sacrifices.
“We want the government to meet our demands so we can continue to care for our patients effectively.”
Their demands include: Gazetting the revised nursing scheme of service, implementation of the Industrial Act of 2012, upward review of professional allowances for nurses and midwives, and employment of more nursing personnel.
Other demands include adequate provision of medical equipment and facilities, establishment of a Nursing Department within the Federal Ministry of Health, and inclusion of nurses in healthcare policy-making bodies and leadership roles.
Others are appointment of nurses as Health Commissioners in states and centralisation of internship placements for graduate nurses, similar to doctors.
“This is a total shutdown. Hospitals have discharged many patients, and the wards are largely empty,” he added.
Also speaking, Mr Amos Ombufa, NANNM National Treasurer for the Federal Health Institution Sector and South-South Zonal Coordinator, confirmed full compliance across federal hospitals in the region.
He said, “If after this seven-day warning strike our demands are not met, we will issue a 21-day ultimatum.
“If the government still fails to respond, we will proceed on an indefinite strike. Nurses must not relent.”
The Public Relations Officer of FMC Yenagoa, Mr Akpedi Bernard, described the situation as unfortunate.
He explained that the hospital, anticipating the strike, mobilised available doctors and senior nursing staff to offer limited services.
“As the only tertiary federal health facility in Bayelsa, FMC is responsible for more than 70 per cent of healthcare services in the state.
“A strike like this has a serious impact. However, we have tried to keep essential services running for critical and emergency cases,” Bernard said.
FG appeals to nurses, midwives to shelve impending strike
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has appealed to the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) to shelve its impending strike.
Mr Muhammad Dingyadi, Minister of Labour and Employment made the appeal on Wednesday in Abuja at a meeting with the leadership of the association.
Nurses across Nigeria, under NANNM, have announced a seven-day warning strike beginning Wednesday night, over welfare and other pressing issues.
The aggrieved workers, specifically, are demanding for improved working conditions, better welfare packages, and increased recognition, inadequate staffing, limited resources, insufficient remuneration, among others.
The minister, however, implored them to step back from their planned action, stating that “strike is not the best solution to industrial disputes’’.
He urged the association to embrace dialogue while the government continues to work on addressing their concerns.
The meeting will continue on Friday at the headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Health, as the government works out a resolution to the dispute.