Posted on: Wed 01-07-2020

Concerned Nurses Of Delta State have called on Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to call the commissioner for health, Dr. Mordi Ononye, to order. The call is in response to the commissioner’s insistence on going ahead with the Community Nursing and Mimdwifery programme in the state despite public and professional call to halt same. 

The nurses and midwives also called on the Delta State House of Assembly to investigate the motives behind the commissioner’s insistence on quackery programme when the State has eight health related medical institutions that produce more than 800 professional healthcare workers annually from the aforementioned schools.

Although the programme is an initiative of the Nursing and MIdwifery Council of Nigeria  (NMCN), Nurses in Delta state are opposed to the move, citing the over 2000 nurses and midwives already trained but have not been employed, the government’s claim of no Rural areas in the State and the fact that the graduates from the lower cadre programme will be quacks and will pose health risks to the communities they will be exposed to.There is also a gross breach of section 1,13,14,16 and 21 of the NMCN Act and the training is against the Gazette on "A LAW TO PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF DELTA STATE SCHOOLS OF NURSING AND MIDWIFERY" where the five schools were highlighted with spelt out modalities.

The Nurses said: “A programme planned originally for States with lack of adequately trained Nurses and Midwives, was suddenly adopted by Delta State Ministry of Health with so much pride, despite high level of education and many unemployed Nurses and Midwives spanning into thousands from various communities in the state.” It is a known fact that the havoc caused by Bokoharam and insecurity in the Northern region made it sacrosanct for some states to opt for such LCN/LCM. Our maternal and child health indices is one of the best nationwide because of the pivotal roles Nurses play as pillar in our State health System and the Government Free Maternal and Under5 program for all class of citizens in Delta State. We can only maximize our gains through more manpower, incentives  and not belittle the standard of care for the rural dwellers. Nursing and Midwifery practice forbids treating clients/patients on the basis of their Social and economic background which if this ill thought out programme will introduce where the lives of our rural dwellers are viewed as being lower than that of the urban dwellers. What will be the Maternal/Child mortality rate in Delta State if the State is to wait for the next two years in line with the Commissioner's two years community Nursing agenda ?

The nurses are worried that there are over 2000 trained nurses and midwives who have graduated from nursing institutions in the state but have not been employed by government. The nurses therefore see no reason abandoning the already trained nurses and going for a programme which will produce quacks and will be detrimental to the health of the people of Delta state. Worst still, more than 15,000 Deltans indicate interests to study Nursing and Midwifery in the existing schools within the state but only less than 700 sparingly secure the slot for the highly reputed and rigorous programme. Why bringing 2 - 4 O'level credit holders when 9credit holders are yet to enter the schools? 

In a protest statement signed by Comr.David Chukwuka Ezugwu(KSP,JP) -  NANNM Secretary, Delta State Council and made available to journalists in Asaba, the Nurses said members of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) are committed to the wellbeing of Delta people, hence the Appeal that his Excellency Senator Dr. I A Okowa, to call the commissioner to order and for the Commissioner  to stop blackmailing the Union and her members that are protecting the health and safety of the people in line with their professional calling.

The action of the commissioner is in contravention of section 12(1) of the Nursing and Midwifery Council Act which empowers the State Nursing And Midwifery Committee to appropriate modalities for programme approvals. Neither the stakeholders, nor the opinion of the general public were consulted before the Commissioner and DNS arm-twisted the Nursing and Midwifery Council to the back to grant an obnoxious approval that went contrary to the NMCN Act, Section 42 and 42 of 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria and also in contrast to the provisions of National Migration Policy, 2015. Even the equal right to health advocacy of the  World Health Organization as enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goals was consciously ignored by the supposed Health administrator of Delta State. Series of letters and Communique have been issued but all were blatantly declined by the almighty health commissioner. For how long shall illegality perpetuate for political gains to the wreckage of the citizens?

The statement also said the commissioner, towards the end of 2019, suspended the allowances of NURSES serving in the rural communities and riverine areas, saying that "there are no Rural Communities in the Delta State". The body is now wondering why the interest in training' quack nurses' for our rural communities which the commissioner had earlier said was not necessary in the State!

NANNM said: “Each year the five Schools of Nursing and Midwifery and the Delta State University produce about 300- 400 professionally qualified and licensed Nurses, yet the last employment of Nurses to the local government areas (rural) was done in 2004. In seeing to the welfare of her members, the greatest wish of NANNM is the employment of over 2000 unemployed Delta State Nurses/Midwives who are indigenes of the said rural communities spread out.” 

The nurses described the training as nauseating, and breeding ground for quacks who will, at the end, jeopardize the health of the people of Delta state. The body of nurses also noted that there are infrastructural deficits in the training institutions to accommodate all the students being proposed for the training. According to Nursing Council accreditation approval  for the legitimate nurses, only 75 students are permitted by law to be admitted into the schools of Nursing Agbor and Eku as at the last review. Despite not making provision for capacity expansion and manpower appropriation, the commissioner singlehandedly secured permission to train additional 200 illegitimate students for his personal benefit and detrimental ruin of the health of Deltans. 

The nurses believe that if the programme is allowed to run it will breed licensed but non-skilled midwives that will be more dangerous than quacks due to the license they will brandish, hence endangering the lives of their clients because of their level of competence. It is also believed that the products from these trainings will only be products for domestic use only in the local communities and cannot be employed by other governments agencies aside of local government councils in Delta state. Worst still, the bonding make the life of the holders of such certificate tied to one location thus denigrating their fundamental human rights.

Arising from the above, the nurses in the state are demanding for the discontinuation of the community nursing and midwifery programme, advising rather that the State government should address the manpower shortage in the Local government by employing the qualified nurses and midwives on ground. The marriage of convenience embarked upon by the Health Commissioner and Director of Nursing Services will cripple public health safety and industrial harmony if the soon to be exhausted peace-deal fails !

We hope the authorities concerned will act before it is too late! #The Life of our rural communities # Are equally important. # Governor Okowa # Save Deltans # Excellence in nursing practice #The desire of Deltans.

SIGNED.   Comr. Nurse . Awele Mordi (Coordinator)

 Comr. Nurse. Ogbanako Mercy (Secretary)

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