FG urged to gazette nurses scheme of service

The National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) has called on the federal ministry of health to gazette the Nurses Schemes of Service as approved by the National Council on Establishments in 2016, in Minna, Niger State. President of the association, Comrade Haruna Mamman made the call on Tuesday in Abuja when the Minister […]

The National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) has called on the federal ministry of health to gazette the Nurses Schemes of Service as approved by the National Council on Establishments in 2016, in Minna, Niger State.

President of the association, Comrade Haruna Mamman made the call on Tuesday in Abuja when the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako visited the leadership of the association at its headquarters.

Mamman emphasized that nurses and midwives are not known lovers of lockout and strikes considering their calling as healthcare professionals.

The nurses president called for the implementation of the National Industrial Court (NIC) judgment of 27th January, 2012 (SUIT NO NIC/AB)16/2020) in line with the Industrial Arbitration Panel Award (I.A.P).

He also called for the upward  review of peculiar professional allowances for nurses and midwives  and  inclusion of nurses in the health policy-making body.

While calling for  the employment of nursing personnel and adequate provision of health facility equipment, he said there is need for a fair representation by the association in the board membership of the tertiary health institutions.

He also called for  centralization of internship posting for graduate nurses,  and creation of Department of Nursing in the Federal Ministry of Health.

Minister of state for health and social welfare, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako said the visit was geared towards familiarization with the association to set a template for continuous interface,  interaction, and dialogue between it and the ministry.

He said the  agenda of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration is ‘no strike in the health sector’ and called on the association to work with it to achieve the agenda.

He said the health sector had been bedevilled with incessant strikes that the public had become used to it.

While pledging to address the concerns of nurses and midwives in the country, he said the current administration had introduced measures to improve the health sector  such as increased  health sector budgetary allocation, restoration of budgetary funding for  health regulatory bodies, and waivers to mitigate impact of ‘japa’ syndrome.

He added that the ministry was working to address the challenges of human resources for health and enjoined nurses and midwives to stay back and contribute their quota to the county instead of abandoning it for other countries.