By Our Reporter
The Nigeria Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) has called on the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to, as a matter of urgency, implement the 25 per cent upward CONHESS salary scale review and hazard allowance.
It also called on the states to implement revised call duty allowance in their respective civil services for nurses to expedite actions in implementation of the said structure to encourage nurses staying back in the country to render services to the people.
NANNM stated this in a communique it issued at the end its two-day National Executive Council (NEC) quarterly meeting in Abuja.
The meeting also witnessed the training of over 300 of top members of the group including Chairmen and Secretaries from all the branches of the country in Automated Management System.
The communique states that: “The NEC-in-session frowned at the non-implementation of an enhanced salary structure for nurses in the country among other issues ranging from the establishment of departments of nursing services in the federal ministry of health raised by the association to the government in different platforms and offices.
“The NEC, therefore, appealed to the federal government to urgently look at these issues to forestall industrial disharmony.
“NEC in session lauded the federal government on the approval for the engagement of health fellows in the primary health centres across the 774 local government areas of the federation and called for the inclusion of nurses and midwives in the program as the main stakeholders and generators of data in such facilities.
“The NEC- in -session called on states and local governments that are yet to implement 100 per cent CONHESS to do so without delay.
“The NEC-in-session further expressed worry in the gross depletion of specialized nurses in health facilities of the federation and called on the nurses in divers specialty areas in the profession for improved quality of care to the citizens seeking healthcare in the country to further reduce health tourism,” the communique said.
Responding to questions from journalists on the relevance of the automated management system training, the NANNM President, Michael Nnachi, explained that the training was aimed at enabling the association have a comprehensive authentic list of its members nation-wide.
“The training is a kind of automated membership management system.
“In the automated management system, we try to update ourselves to remain IT compliant in such a way that our members at the grassroot level should be able to register at anywhere they are, not necessarily coming to the secretariat to do it.
“The training is for members of the National Executive Council drawn from the Chairmen and the Secretaries of the 36 states and the FCT.
“We have over 300 members here participating in the training. We expect that the training will equally put in place reliable data concerning the numerical strength of nurses in Nigeria.
“Between now and the end of the month, we should be able to have a comprehensive numerical strength of the nurses and midwives in all the facilities in the country, which will equally help not only the Association but the government in terms of planning.”
