Association calls on fg to increase budgetary allocation to health sector
The National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, Federal Health Institutions Sector(NANNM-FHI), on Friday called on Federal Government to increase budgetary allocation to the health sector in line with the recommendation of the World Health Organisation(WHO).
Nurse Wale Olatunde, National Chairman, NANNM-FHI who made the call at the 33rd Annual National Scientific Conference with the theme "Clinical Utilization and Application of Nursing Models/Theories for Effective Nursing Practice" in Abuja.
Olatunde explained that nursing is an act as well as a science, the act of nursing is when you begin to carry out your process in the world, but for every step you take in the nursing care, there must be a scientific reason for doing it.
And that is why we use our models of theories that we have learnt in school, we want to translate them into a clinical practise for more effective clinical nursing practise in this country.
According to him, he explained some of the issues bedeviling the delivery of quality health care, especially in the tertiary and specialist hospitals.
"We will continue to bring to the consciousness of the government and people of this country with great sadness the deteriorating state of infrastructure, functional equipment and non-availability of adequate medical consumables. Why create big stands and everything when you do not have the facilities to run and maintain them.
"Some of the challenges nurses are facing, most are self inflicted in the sense that if you go around some of our various hospital, you find so many uncompleted project.
"People are retiring and they are not recruiting new ones.
"We have more non-professionals than the professionals in some of our various hospital". We are not saying they should be sacked, but all we are saying is that they should give us more professionals within the health sectors.
"A situation where just 2 nurses are caring for 24 patients, there is no way you can get the quality and effective nursing care.
When WHO recommend 1 nurse to 4 patiens you can't compare the care they will give, than 2 nurses to 24 patients, definitely, something must be wrong somewhere. Those are the things I meant by self inflicted".
He added, that the country has made legislation and intervention impossible, thus making health care personnel very vulnerable and endangered species.
It is with heavy heart that we remember the recent gruesome killing of two nurses, one was on the 17th of September and the other on the 15th of October 2018 while giving their professional services in one of the IDP camps in Boron state. The 3rd is still in captivity.
Olatunde noted, that people have the right to always demand to known the professional status of any individual who claim to be a nurse before they subject themselves to their care.
They should remember that it is not everybody that put on white dress in the hospital that is a certified nurse and licensed to practice, he said.
This remains one of the practical ways in which we can help reverse the current rating of the country's health indices which places Nigeria in 187 out of 191 countries. The effectiveness of clinical nursing service remains a critical determinant of the health care service of any country.
He finally called on Individuals and philanthropists to go into genuine and transparent partnership with government as government alone can no longer fund health care delivery. That introduction of Health Tax like the VAT and Education Tax Fund will help remedy the current situation.