CRSMOH Pledges Readiness To Partner NANNM To Improve Health Care Services
By Kingsley Agim
The State Ministry of Health has pledged its readiness to synergise with the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Cross River chapter, in a bid to address manpower gap and enhance health care services in the State.
The pledge was made by the Commissioner for Health, Dr Henry Egbe Ayuk, recently, while receiving in audience a delegation of NANNM executive members, who were on a courtesy visit to his office in Calabar.
Dr. Ayuk stated that collaboration between the Ministry and the Nurses Union has become inevitable given the present government's determination to reposition the health sector of the State.
He assured the delegation that plans were underway to holistically look into issues bothering nurses in public health facilities like staff welfare, implementation of new salary structure, hazard allowance, work load analysis, etc, all in bid to improve the health sector.
He also promised to channel requests made by NANNM to the appropriate quarters, while expressing optimism in the government's swift action.
In her speech, the Ministry's Permanent Secretary, Dr (Mrs.) Pauline Obute, described NANNM as her immediate constituency, being herself a professional nurse, expressing confidence that the new leadership of the Health Ministry would work with the Association to better the nursing profession.
Earlier in her remarks, NANNM's Chairman, Josephine Bassey, congratulated the Commissioner on his appointment and thank him for approving their visit in spite of short notice, describing him as "a round peck in a round hole, whose wealth of experience would surely move the sector forward."
Lamenting the shambolic state of health facilities in the State, which, she said, had been worsened by inadequate manpower and infrastructural decay, appealed for employment of staff to fill in the gaps.
She also appealed for upward review of hazard allowance for nurses, implementation of promotions and incremental steps, training and retraining of nurses, operational vehicle, proper constitution of colleges of health, implementation of the 65 years retirement age for nurses in the State, as well as consideration of nurses for appointment into leadership positions.
She also drew the attention of the Commissioner on deduction of members' checkoff dues without remittance, proliferation of quack health institutions, urging government to wade into the matter urgently.
Bassey further pledged her Association's openness to partnering with the Ministry for improved service delivery in the health sector.
