Ondo nurses warn against improper postings, cite patient safety

By Boye Oyeyemi

The Nigeria National Association of Nurses and Midwives, Ondo State Council, has warned that alleged irregularities in the recent recruitment and deployment of health workers by the state Hospitals Management Board could endanger patients and undermine the gains recorded in the health sector.

NANNM said its objection was not to the employment of health workers but to what it described as the deployment of personnel to positions outside their professional training, approved job descriptions and regulatory scope.

The association stated this in a response to the Acting Chairman of the HMB, Dr O. N. Akeredolu, signed by its Public Relations Officer, Comrade Prince Lucky Okikiola Aremu, and issued in Ondo State on Saturday.

NANNM alleged that some personnel without nursing training or certificates had been posted to wards in secondary healthcare facilities, warning that such deployments could create professional role confusion and compromise patient safety.

The nurses also alleged that some casual workers absorbed into the civil service had been performing duties beyond their professional competencies, including assisting in surgical procedures, resuscitating babies in theatres and conducting deliveries.

The association acknowledged some positive steps by Akeredolu, particularly the absorption of deserving casual workers and involvement of professional directors in the recruitment process, but alleged that some of their recommendations on postings and job descriptions were later discarded.

NANNM therefore called on Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to order an independent review of the exercise, including the manpower requirements, cadres recruited, professional recommendations, job descriptions and places of deployment, saying the records should be made available for proper scrutiny.

The association said the governor’s efforts to improve healthcare delivery should not be undermined by administrative excesses, stressing that it would continue to support genuine reforms while demanding professionalism, due process and quality healthcare for residents.