Government promises improved conditions for nurses
Federal
and state health authorities should train and empower nurses in the
rural areas to work independently of doctors to deliver health services
to the people, the minister of state for health, Suleman Bello, said
yesterday in Benin.
Mr. Bello, who was
represented at the opening ceremony of the 2010 Annual Conference of
Principals/Heads of Nursing Education Programmes in Nigeria by Animaeze
Ezenwa Ike, Director of Nursing Services, Federal Ministry of Health,
said nurses in rural areas should also be allowed to play a more active
part in the medical surveillance of clients with chronic illnesses.
The minister, who
said government should expand healthcare services by creating special
nursing clinics in rural areas where nurses could provide medical care
to the people, also advised the nurses to press for licences to enable
them issue prescriptions for common drugs.
He, however, advised the nurses against leaving our country for greener pastures abroad.
“While it is
important that sufficient number of nursing graduates acquire new
knowledge in their chosen field, it is equally important that adequate
effort must be put in place to prevent human capital flight of nurses
from the country to other nations,” he said.
The Edo State
government congratulated organizers of the conference. The state
governor was represented by the state commissioner for health, Moses
Momoh, who said a vibrant nursing profession will ensure a healthy
nation, and reduce the negative consequences of the global economic
meltdown.
Improved midwife scheme
Mr. Momoh also said
that a midwife scheme, aimed at reducing maternal and infant mortality,
has taken off in Edo State. He advised principals and heads of nursing
programmes to “put in more effort to ensure that your products (nurses)
show more empathy and respect to all their clients in the face of the
economic meltdown.” The conference, with the theme, “Global Economic
Meltdown: A Challenge to Nursing Education and Practice,” attracted
participants from across the nation.
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