Barely two days after a Nursing world NIgeria correspondent reported on the alleged plan by Dr Uwakwem to outsource various departments of the FMC Owerri to her associates, a memo has surfaced proposing that the FMC be managed by getting Nurses recruited through an Agency on Contract basis. 

 

According to Dr Uwakwem's plan to enslave nurses perpetually, she also plans to get an outside laboratory services and also enslave the medical laboratory scientist that would work under this supposed "outside laboratories" under terms and conditions that are untainable under human labor law.

 

You would recall that Dr Uwakwem had rushed to open the newly completed amenity ward as a guise for a need to urgently recruit nurses under contract basis.

 

The Nurses and the Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP) have subsequently held a protest. They noted that having succeeded in privatising the mortuary, transport, security and laundry departments, there are plans to privatise other departments, especially the laboratory, Nursing and pharmacy departments if nothing is done.

 

They said that the plan to privatize and outsource critical units of the hospital by the outgoing Chief Medical Director and the board members just at the tail end of the present administration is questionable, suspicious and not in good fate.

 

Noting that every unit of the hospital has been performing creditably well, the Chairman of NUAHP, FMC Owerri chapter, Ezeugo Chika, said that the reason cited by the management for the planned privatization was baseless.

 

In a swift response to these allegations, the Chief Medical Director, Dr Angela Uwakwe, debunked the accusations that the management was trying to privatize the entire hospital, noting that it was just some units.

 

She said that the board was still meeting to ratify the proposed privatisation, insisting that it is a proposed Public Private Partnership (PPP) to make the hospital services more efficient and effective.

 

However, the union have resolved to continue with their protest if the alleged plans by the management are not reversed.

 

Click Here to view the public notice on the privatisation