The Registrar of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, Faruk Abubakar, on Monday, mentioned the council’s new tips usually are not focused at stopping nurses and midwives from relocating overseas searching for greener pastures.
Abubakar, nonetheless, mentioned the council was defending Nigeria’s curiosity as a result of Nigerians haven’t any different nation.
The Registrar mentioned these whereas addressing members of the Nationwide Affiliation of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, Abuja chapter, who staged a peaceable protest on the council’s workplace in Abuja.
The protesting nurses expressed displeasure over what they described as an try to hinder their freedom to pursue profession alternatives, asking the council to handle nurses’ welfare, wage scale, scarcity of employees, and different rights.
The nurses and midwives have been on the NMCN workplace singing and carrying placards across the premises peacefully.
Among the placards learn, “Tackle unemployment amongst nurses, handle quackery, handle nurses welfare.
Among the placards learn, “Tackle unemployment amongst nurses, handle quackery, handle nurses welfare”; “#No to verification guidelines. Cease irritating the Nigerian nurses, we’re going by way of rather a lot already, Shield nurses, shield healthcare”; “NMCN, we are saying no to the verification guidelines”; and “NMCN, don’t scale back nurses.”
The NMCN had on February 7, 2024, issued a round revising the rules for requesting verification of certificates for nurses and midwives.
The council’s round was launched after The PUNCH reported the deactivation of the verification portal on NMCN’s web site in December 2023.
The round, signed by the Registrar of the council, Dr Faruk Abubakar, learn partly, “A non-refundable price per software shall be paid for verification to overseas boards of nursing as specified on the portal. This shall cowl the price of courier providers to the applicant’s establishment(s) of coaching, place of job, and overseas board.
“Eligible candidates should have a minimal of two years put up qualification expertise from the date of issuance of the everlasting practising licence. Any software with a provisional licence shall be rejected outright.”
The council additionally acknowledged that candidates should have lively practising licences with a minimal of six months to the expiration date, and processing of verification purposes would take a minimal of six months.
It added that the implementation of the rules takes impact from March 1, 2024.
Talking in the course of the peaceable protest on Monday, one in every of nurses’ spokespersons, Cynthia Adeyeri, urged the federal government to enhance the welfare of nurses, as a substitute of issuing new tips on certificates verification.
Adeyeri mentioned, “We’re to present the Registrar a letter and to precise our displeasure over the certificates verification. We’re saying no to creating us to work two years earlier than we are able to go away (the nation), we’re saying no to getting a letter of fine standing from the CMD from our hospitals, and we’re saying no different issues within the round.
“The federal government ought to have a dialogue with younger nurses to ask us why we’re leaving Nigeria. We have now a poor well being care infrastructure and that’s the reason persons are leaving; they need to go to the place they’ve higher pay and higher welfare. The welfare of nurses in Nigeria may be very poor.
“We would like them to extend our pay and make the system higher for the nurses and the sufferers.”
Addressing the nurses in the course of the peaceable protest, the Registrar mentioned the nurses’ complaints can be addressed as quickly as potential.
Abubakar mentioned, “We have now listened to you and we’re going to handle it in a short while, in a few days. I’ve listened to you and I’ve heard you. I need to acknowledge the way in which you will have mobilised and I need to guarantee you that your paperwork will likely be checked out holistically and we’ll handle each difficulty.”
He mentioned the council was not in opposition to the nurses and midwives travelling in another country.
“Nigeria is our solely nation, we don’t have every other nation other than Nigeria. No one is in opposition to you travelling and no matter coverage that’s approaching board is in the perfect curiosity of Nigerians.
“You may have written your complaints and we’ll have a look at them one after the other and get again to you.
“Return to your respective place of job, and I guarantee you that in a few days, we’ll reply,” he famous.
The NMCN is the one authorized, administrative, company and statutory physique charged with performing particular capabilities on behalf of the Federal Authorities to make sure the supply of secure and efficient nursing and midwifery care to the general public by way of high quality schooling and greatest practices.
The council is remitted by legislation to manage the requirements of Nursing and Midwifery schooling and apply in Nigeria and to evaluate such requirements once in a while to satisfy the altering well being wants of the society.