On Tuesday, the House of Representatives’ decision to halt the implementation of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria’s revised certificate verification guidelines was met with jubilation.
The revised guideline, which was to take effect on March 1st, has been suspended, and nurses patiently wait for a reaction or reply from the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria.
Mr Patrick Umoh, the House Member (representing Ikorodu Ekpene/Essien Udim/Obot/Akara Federal Constituency, Akwa Ibom State), sponsoring the motion and leading the debate, acknowledged the concerns of nurses towards the new guidelines and argued that verification of a certificate was done to confirm an already issued certificate by the Council and that adding two years of post-qualification experience before verification of the certificate is unfounded, unnecessary and unfair and that it passes across a subtle message to the community of nurses in Nigeria.
The House also mandated that its Committees on Health Institutions and Legislative Compliance investigate the matter and give a report within six weeks; the committee was also tasked with ensuring that the Council did not implement the guideline pending an extensive probe from the House of Reps.
NANNM Is In Support Of Nurses
The Deputy National President of NANNM, Abubakar Shehu, expressed his support for the decision of the House and made an extensive statement. He said:
“We are excited about the decision of the House of Representatives. We engaged the Registrar of the Council yesterday (Monday) and even before yesterday, the President and General Secretary of NANNM interfaced with him, and suggested a larger house meeting which we did yesterday, and we told him our position; we told him we were not happy with the circular. “Secondly, we are a major stakeholder in the game, and we need to put our heads together. We
have a lot of nurses in the labour market, and the government is not employing these people. So they (nurses) have to look for alternatives, and that is why they are moving out of the country. “So, we are happy that the House of Assembly made the decision,”
There was a bit of controversy, as the president of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives, Mr Michael Nnachi, said that the Council did not consult the association before it released the circular and that NANNM did not support the implementation of the new guideline.
He, however, commented that they were in serious talks with The Council and that The Council has agreed to come to common grounds and review the guidelines and other issues.
“The leadership of the association promptly engaged the NMCN through a series of meetings to address the critical issues and the council agreed to review all the issues raised by the association,” said Mr Nnachi.
Why Does This Matter?
Nurses in Nigeria have perceived the new guideline as a potential barrier, a tactic that could delay or, at worst, prevent them from pursuing better professional opportunities outside the country.
Instead of the government addressing the major reasons why nurses are leaving the country en-mase, they are now coming up with guidelines that sound restrictive, like nurses must have worked for two years before they can begin application to leave the country or they have to get a letter of good standing from their previous training institutions or place of work, which nurses have expressed their concern that asking them to go back to their place of work or former institution puts more pressure and makes an already challenging process more complicated. It can also expose nurses to targeted victimisation from aggrieved previous employers or institutions.
“The requirement that applicants for verification must obtain a letter of good standing from the Chief Executive Officer of the applicant’s place of work is capable of creating forced labour and modern slavery as an applicant will be forced to be subjected to the whims and caprices of applicant’s employer,” argues Mr Patrick Umoh.
Nurses even went as far as protesting at the Council’s headquarters, carrying placards and showing their displeasure, a rare sight in the nursing community in Nigeria.
Are nurses in Nigeria asking for too much?
No. They are not asking the government to build houses or pay them in dollars.
Their requests are very simple and rational:
- Improve the pay and welfare of nurses.
- Provide a better working environment for nurses to practice.
- Place more focus on developing the academic environment of nurses in Nigeria.
Doing all these isn’t just for the good of nurses but for the betterment of the healthcare ecosystem in Nigeria.
We patiently await the Council’s response and the result of the six-week investigation of the Committees on Health Institutions and Legislative Compliance.
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