Medical services were disrupted across several public hospitals in Abuja on Wednesday, July 30, as nurses under the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives(NANNM) commenced a seven-day warning strike.
Persecondnews reports that the strike is to press demand for improved welfare, among other issues.
A visit by Persecondnews correspondents to Maitama District Hospital revealed an unusually deserted waiting room, a stark contrast to its typical bustling atmosphere. Nurses were conspicuously absent.
Patients and their caregivers expressed palpable frustration, lamenting the slow service they were receiving as they waited.
Mr. Edmond Nwoye, a caregiver whose son underwent appendicitis surgery three days prior, shared his concerns with Persecondnews, stating it was “taking forever” for his son to receive his morning medication.
He said: “On a normal day, a nurse always comes around eight o’clock to give Chidubem his medication. She always brings them in that small white tray. But check the time – it is 11:25 am, and he is yet to receive his medication, which includes a pain relief drug.
“How is he going to recover fully if he is skipping medication? If the nurses are on strike, then doctors should make their ward rounds earlier than normal so that patients can get their medication as soon as possible.
“If they would allow you inside the male ward, I will show you a boy who is supposed to be operated on today, but his family are not getting any serious response from the hospital because the nurses who would normally accompany the doctor into theatre are on strike.”
Another caregiver, who gave her name simply as Mrs Ejura, told Persecondnews that if the strike still persists by tomorrow, she is going to take her husband to a private hospital.
Ejura, who refused to disclose her husband’s illness, said that he needs all-round medical care and, so far, she has not seen that today, adding that he is not going to get it in any government hospital.
She said: “Normally, depressing situations like this would make me sad, but somehow they are actually amusing because some things indeed never change.
“I recall a few years back when something similar happened to me here in this hospital. We had to rush my brother to a private hospital because the doctors were on strike.
“We are fortunate to be financially stable, thank God, and can afford to take our loved ones to private hospitals. But what about those struggling to afford medication here? How will they manage to pay for private hospital care?
“Recently, one of our former presidents died in a hospital abroad, and before that, we lost a sitting president in a foreign hospital in 2010. Do you know how much is being spent on that hospital in Aso Rock, yet they refuse to utilise it?
“We are just not ready to get things right in this country. Believe me, when we are ready, we will know, but now let us enjoy the rollercoaster of confusion.”
In an exclusive, albeit brief, interview with Persecondnews, Mr Garuba, Head of Servicom at Maitama District Hospital, confirmed that nurses are indeed on strike, resulting in hospital activities proceeding at a slow pace.
He said: “We are treating the patients we have here, but we are not accepting emergency patients – specifically those who have been in an accident or are in a critical condition.
“Some departments are functioning, but certain critical ones, like surgery, are currently not operating on patients. We hope the strike issue is resolved soon, allowing the nurses to return to their duties.”
When Persecondnews visited Wuse District Hospital, the usually crowded facility was remarkably quiet.
Unlike Maitama District Hospital, where no nurses were seen on site, three nurses were spotted manning strategic positions within the hospital compound, keeping watch to see if any of their colleagues would dare to come to work.
The nurses, this reporter gathered, were sent there by their parent body to see if some nurses would disobey the strike order.
Speaking to Persecondnews, a tall, lanky nurse, who declined to be named, gave a stark warning, stating the interview needed to be brief as he required his “undivided attention.”
“Seriously, we are being taken for granted,” he asserted.
“What the doctors will not say twice before getting, we will have to say a thousand times before the government will even listen.”
He continued, highlighting the crucial role of nurses: “Do you know the amount of work nurses are putting in hospitals nationwide? We are the frontline soldiers, the faces you see in hospital before you fall asleep and the faces that will wake you up. Doctors might make occasional rounds of the ward, but we live in the wards with the patients.”
The nurse expressed frustration over their working conditions, stating, “We are far too hardworking to be neglected by the government. Our counterparts abroad enjoy substantial pay and better working conditions, yet here we are, demanding the bare minimum, and still the government refuses to listen to us.”
He also addressed colleagues: “We are here for those who always like to act more angelic than the angels – those nurses who complain a lot but refuse to obey simple instructions. So far, I have not seen one.”
Despite the hardships, he affirmed, “We love our job; it pains us that we are leaving the patients, but we have no other option.”
He concluded with a plea and a threat: “Our prayer is that the government listens to us, so this can end before August 5, which is the seventh day. If not, a 21-day warning strike will commence, and an indefinite strike is not ruled out.”
Persecondnews had previously reported that the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) issued a seven-day warning strike notice to the Federal Government on Monday, July 28.
The association is demanding improved welfare, fair allowances, and better working conditions for its members.
The strike notice, signed by National Secretary Nurse Enya Osinachi and released by President Nurse Morakinyo-Olajide Rilwan in Abuja, was scheduled to begin at midnight on Tuesday, July 29.
It entails a complete withdrawal of services across all federal health institutions.
This decision followed an emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held on July 10 in Abuja, which the association stated was intended to encourage proactive dialogue on critical issues affecting its members.
According to the notice, the action became necessary after a 15-day ultimatum, issued on July 14, expired without a meaningful response from the Federal Government or the Federal Ministry of Health.
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