Nurses in Ondo State have protested alleged irregularities in the recruitment and posting of personnel to hospitals under the state Hospitals Management Board, insisting that qualified nurses and midwives should be employed for positions meant for them.
The protest followed concerns raised by the Ondo State Council of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives over the alleged deployment of non-nursing cadres to secondary healthcare facilities to perform duties ordinarily assigned to nurses and midwives.
It was gathered on Friday that the association made its position known after its State Executive Council meeting where members reviewed the recent employment and deployment exercise involving hospitals under the HMB.
In a statement signed by the association’s Public Relations Officer, Lucky Aremu, said the union remained open to dialogue but would pursue lawful measures to protect professional standards and patient safety.
NANNM alleged that some vacancies meant for nurses and midwives were not openly advertised, while recruitment spaces were reportedly filled by other cadres on the grounds that there were no nurses available to take the positions.
The association faulted the claim, saying qualified and unemployed nurses and midwives, including holders of RN, RM and BNSc qualifications, were available within and outside the state.
NANNM said deploying non-nursing personnel to nursing positions could undermine patient care, particularly in areas involving emergency response, maternal and newborn services, medication administration, infection prevention and clinical documentation.
The association said, “Patient safety is non-negotiable. Professional standards are non-negotiable, and the statutory roles of Nurses and Midwives are not bargaining chips,” while calling for an immediate review of the recruitment and posting exercise.
NANNM urged the state government to withdraw non-nursing personnel from nursing duty posts, recruit qualified nurses and midwives transparently and convene a stakeholders’ meeting to resolve the matter.