By David Owei,Bayelsa

Patients and in Bayelsa State were on Wednesday stranded as public hospitals in Bayelsa abruptly discharged patients as nurses across the country begin a 7 day warning strike to press home their demands on the issues affecting them.

The strike action embarked by the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), affected the proper functioning of the public hospitals in the state in the early hours of the day, as union leaders were on ground to monitor the compliance.

When our correspondent visited the Primary Health Centre in Amarata community, in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state capital, the busy health centre was not even open as at 9am, a situation where the locals said it might be due to the strike.

Also, at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), few patients were seen roaming around some wards without prompt attention.

Some patients said that they were still waiting for doctors’ attention after arriving the hospital as early as 8am.

Also, those who said they were on appointment with the doctors on Wednesday were also seen roaming around, waiting for attention.

The Chairman of NANNM at the Federal Medical University (FMC), Mr Liberia Woyengibarafagha Progress, who led the enforcement team at FMC, said there will be no skeletal services when the warning strike lasted.

He said: “We have nine point demands, in Nigeria, they say nurses should not travel out of the country, and we have been suffering all these while taking care of our patients and we have been doing our best, at this point we asking the government to give us our needs, so that we can also take care of our patients.

“Our demands are, government should gazette our nursing scheme of service, we are asking for the implementation of industrial act, 2012, upward review of professional allowance for nurses and midwife, employment of more nursing personnel and adequate provision of health facilities equipments.

“Currently, if you look at the hospitals, most times you don’t have equipments, it’s even hard for government to even provide light for us in the hospital environment, we have been suffering to take care of our patients, we are saying no, enough is enough.

“We are also asking for the creation of nursing department, in the federal ministry, nursing department is not there, everything boiled down to one particular department, which I don’t want to mention, but we the nurses know that we are the majority in the health sector, and we are not being recognize in Nigeria, other countries, they recognize nurses and we are not being recognize here.

“We are also asking for inclusion nurses in the headship of health policy, what I mean is that most of our boards, nurses are not there, and we form the heart of the health sector, and we are not being included, how do we take decisions, it’s only few states in Nigeria that they always appoint nurses as Commissioner for health.

“We are also asking for centralization of internship posting for graduates nurses, federal government should take over the posting of internship posting for nurses as it’s done for doctors, we are also asking for consultancy cadre for nurses, there should be nurse consultants and nurse practitioners.

“This strike is a total shut down, no plan for skeletal services, this strike had to do with federal, state and local government nurses nationwide, and currently, the hospital has discharge so many of their patients, we don’t have patients at the wards, so even the patients are suffering now.

Also speaking, the National Treasurer of NANNM, Federal Health institution Sector and South South zonal Coordinator, Comrade Amos Ombufa, said after the 7 days warning strike in accordance with the labour law, the Union will also give the Federal Government another 21 days ultimatum to meet the needs of the nurses, stating that if at the end of ultimatum, the demands are not met, they will proceed on indefinite strike.

“I urged nurses not to relent, we should press home our demands, as we are speaking, all the federal hospitals across the nation are totally shut down, especially in the South South zone where I’m in charge, there is total compliance, there is no provision for skeletal services.” He said.

The Public Relations Officer at the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, Mr Akpedi Bernard, said though it was unfortunate that nurses were proceeding on strike, adding that the management envisaging the strike, put the house together by mobilizing the doctors to see the skeletal services they could provide.

He said: “With regards to strike declared by NANNM, it’s unfortunate that as a management here, we are not happy about it, particularly in FMC Yenagoa, is the only tertiary federal health facility in Bayelsa State and we have the responsibility of taking care of more than 70% health care needs of the people, it’s the only principal referral centre that we have here too, so when strike occured like this, it really affect us negatively.

“However, the management envisaging the strike, put the house together by way of mobilizing the doctors to see the skeletal services they could provide, off course, the very senior nurses, those at the management cadre will support too, so that those with very critical health needs, we will still be attending to them and maybe some very urgent cases that may come too, while the strike is ongoing.” He said.