Shuaibu Usman
Nursing professionals in Nasarawa State have called for more investment in the profession through nursing education, remuneration and employment of qualified manpower to bridge the gap in the provision of adequate and easily accessible nursing services across government and private health facilities.
Inadequate and incompetent manpower has been the bane in the delivery of better services in the nursing profession as quacks and poor remuneration also remain a challenge to bear.
Speaking with the State Chairman of the National Association of Nurses and Midwives of Nigeria, Comrade Attah Avre, on the commemoration of the 2024 International Nurses’ Day, in Lafia, said globally every nurse is entitled to attend to not more that four patients, decrying the current situation as over thirteen patients are attended to by a nurse leading to poor service delivery in the nursing sub-sector.
Comrade Avre added that since 2017, nurses in the state have suffered stagnation, noting that government is yet to show willingness in addressing the challenges for optimal service delivery.
He lauded the efforts of professionals in doing their best to the society, lamenting non-chalant attitude of concerned authorities is shrinking the dedication of nurses and midwives resulting to the current trend of Japa Syndrome in the health sector across Nigeria and the African Continent.
He appreciated Governor Abdullahi Sule for the payment of hazard allowance to all health workers in the state, advocating for its extension to their counterparts at the local government levels.
Commenting, Director of Nursing Services, Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Lafia, Mrs. Helen Kwakipi, told our correspondent that despite the readiness of the Hospital’s management in addressing lingering issues for maximum nursing attention, the government has to do its part to ensure increased and effective service delivery.
Kwakipi maintained that the challenge of inadequate manpower is posing great danger in ensuring the delivery of quality service, pleading with patients to also understand the intricacies of the job and the challenges thwarting effective and efficient service.
She encouraged members of the public to look at investing in the health sector generously, saying that the sector requires huge investment to make the society virile in health coverage.
The International Nurses Day is commemorated yearly in recognition of the invaluable contributions of nursing professionals to national development occasioned by Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing’s prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during the Crimean War, in which she organised care for wounded soldiers at Constantinople and significantly reduced death rates by improving hygiene and living standards.