Mrs Josephine Bassey, Chairperson, National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) in Cross River, has urged Gov. Ben Ayade to recruit 2,000 nurses to fill the manpower gap in the health sector.
Bassey made the call on Tuesday in Calabar during the occasion of her one year in office, saying the dearth of manpower was one of the greatest challenges facing NANNM in the state.
She said that the call became necessary because most of the health facilities in the state were understaffed.
According to her, the last time the state recruited nurses was in 2018.
She added that since then, no recruitment had taken place in spite of the retirement of nurses from service yearly.
“For instance, in Ogoja Local Government Area (LGA) we have 53 health facilities. The General Hospital in Ogoja has only 82 nurses with the rest have only nine nurses.
“Sadly also, Biase LGA has 52 health facilities with two nurses, while in Obudu we have 66 health facilities with only seven nurses.
“These nurses are grossly inadequate to care for patients in the various facilities; hence they are subjected to undue pressure with limited time to rest.
“I wish to call on the governor to recruit 2,000 nurses with a view to filling in the dearth of manpower in our health facilities, especially the ones in the rural areas,” she said.
While listing her achievements within the period under review, she said that she assisted in the implementation of nurses’ promotion in the state.
She also added that she facilitated the payment of all outstanding premium and other welfare benefits to retired nurses across the state.
She said she also acquired a vast land in Ogoja LGA for nurses in Cross River North and introduced nurses from the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital into the state welfare scheme of the association.
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She, however, called on the state government to always remit Check-off dues and other welfare deductions to the association promptly.
She urged the management of the Cross River State University to create a Department of Nursing Science in the university in order to promote the study of nursing in the state.
Manpower: Association urges Ayade to recruit 2,000 nurses
