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The biggest ever strike by nurses looks set to go ahead.

The Royal College of Nursing is due to unveil the results of its ballot, which ended last week, in the next few days.



The final results are being counted but RCN sources say a large majority of nurses have voted in favour of action in a dispute over pay.

The RCN had recommended to its 300,000 members that they walk out. If strikes take place, they would affect non-urgent but not emergency care.

The vote has involved a series of individual workplace-based ballots across the UK and if nurses do not back action at a local level it is possible some hospitals and services will not be involved.

The government had appealed to nurses to "carefully consider" the impact on patients.

But Pat Cullen, RCN general secretary and chief executive, said: "Huge numbers of staff - both experienced and newer recruits - are deciding they cannot see a future in a nursing profession that is not valued nor treated fairly.

She added: "Our strike action will be as much for patients as it is for nurses. We have their support in doing this."

Cabinet minister Oliver Dowden said the government had "well-oiled contingencies in place" for dealing with any strike action by nurses.

Speaking on Sky News, Mr Dowden said essential services would be prioritised, "but of course there would be an impact as a result of a strike like that".

"I would continue to urge nurses and others to resist to going out on strike even if they have voted to do so", he added.

The RCN had called for a rise of 5% above the RPI inflation rate which currently stands at above 12%, but no UK nation has offered close to that.

In England and Wales, NHS staff, including nurses, have been given an average of 4.75% more, with extra for the lowest paid.

In Scotland, 5% was initially offered to NHS staff, but that has been changed to a flat rate of just over £2,200, which works out at just over 8% for a newly-qualified nurse. In Northern Ireland, nurses are yet to receive a pay award.

During the ballot, the RCN had argued this year's below-inflation pay award came after years of squeezes on nurse's salaries.



Research commissioned by the union has found average pay fell by 6% between 2011 and 2021 - once inflation was taken into account - compared with a 4.6% drop for the whole economy.

Starting salaries for nurses in England are currently just above £27,000, rising to nearly £55,000 for the most senior nurses.

The RCN said the average pay for a full-time established nurse was just above £32,000 last year - similar to average pay across the economy.

But the government has argued it has met the recommendations of the independent NHS Pay Review Body in giving its award.

And it followed a 3% pay rise last year, in recognition of work during the pandemic, despite a public-sector pay freeze.

This is the first time the RCN has balloted all its members for strike action in its 106-year history.

In 2019, RCN members went on strike in Northern Ireland over pay, while nurses who are members of Unison in England walked out in 2014 over pay.

A host of other major health unions, including Unison, the Royal College of Midwives, GMB and Unite, have all started to, or are planning to, ballot members.

Source: BBC News

An Iyaganku Chief Magistrates' Court, sitting at Ibadan on Friday, has granted bail of N200,000 each to two nurses and two security personnel working with Ibadan Central Hospital, Ibadan, for allegedly cutting off flesh from a corpse in their hospital.




The defendants are nurses Muibat Olatunji, 27, and Oluwafunmilayo Omeh, 22, and security men Bamidele Bamiro, 32, and Godwin Omomoh, 22.

They were slammed with a two-count charge of "having no regard for the corpse and offering indignity to the corpse".

Defence Counsel, Mr George Olaniyi, who appeared for the first and second defendants, asked for their bail in liberal term.

The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The Chief Magistrate, Mr Emmanuel Idowu, granted the defendants bail in the sum of N200,000 with two sureties in like sum.

Idowu, thereafter, adjourned the matter till December 19, for mention.

The Prosecution Counsel, Insp Iyabo Oladoyin, told the court that the defendants and others, now at large, allegedly conspired together to commit the offence.

"The defendants, on October 30 without lawful justification, allegedly offered indignity to the corpse of one Rachael Boluade who died in their hospital by cutting off flesh from her forehead and right hand," she said.

Oladoyin said the offence contravened sections 242 and 517 of the Criminal Code Laws of Oyo State 2000.

NAN reports that if the defendants are found guilty of the charges, they are liable to two years imprisonment each.

Source: Guardian Newspaper

Nurses share the duty of care with doctors in the healthcare sector. They are the nearest to patients during treatment and recovery. They provide support for the patients' physical and psycho-social needs. However, there has been a paradigm shift in their role in the advent of modern medicine. Nurses have a multifaceted role as holistic caregivers, patient advocates, specialists, and researchers. To play this role efficiently, nurses require some high-quality education backed by relevant facilities.



Despite this critical role nurses play in the development of any country, unfortunately, Nigeria is yet to adequately tap from their strength as every year, thousands of them leave Nigeria for other parts of the world, particularly the developed countries for greener pastures. According to data from the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN), 13,000 nurses left the shores of Nigeria in 2021 for Europe, Canada and the United States. It added that on the average, 1,000 nurses leave the country every month for better welfare abroad.

For the past five years, PAMO University of Medical Sciences, Port Harcourt has been admitting students to help fill the gap of those leaving the country in droves. With the full accreditations of the Department of Nursing Science of the university by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and NMCN, the university has become a place of quality training for nurses.

What makes the Department of Nursing Science of the university unique is that it is the first time nursing students are graduating in a five-year record time from the commencement of the programme in any new university. Each graduate has four certificates, namely: Registered Nurse, Registered Midwife, Registered Public Health Practitioner and Bachelor of Nursing Science degree

In most universities offering courses in nursing, students stay in school for up to six, seven or even eight years before they enter the labour market.

Conceptualised as a world-class institution, PAMO is dedicated to building healthcare workers, including medical doctors, nurses and other allied courses in the country. Well-equipped and furnished to world standard, the university, situated in a serene environment in Port Harcourt, has been playing a key role in nation-building by moulding the teeming youth population through its teaching, research and community services.

The full accreditation of the school's courses and programmes by medical and health professional bodies including the National Universities Commission (NUC), Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, Medical Laboratory Council, among others has turned it to a first choice for parents who want their children to have not just sound medical education but to graduate in record time.

This is why at the first induction ceremony/oath taking for the 2022 Bachelor of Nursing graduates of the Department of Nursing Science, the newly inducted nurses were urged to exhibit the high standards and care associated with the nursing profession.

Speaking at the event, the Head of Department, Nursing Science, Dr. J. E. Anieche, while claiming that the nursing profession is the best in the world, reminded the graduates that they have a duty of excellence to the clients and the nation at large.

According to the Head of Department, the stress and sweat of the programme usually turn into sweet and honey as the graduates leave the institution with four certificates namely.

"The joy is always overwhelming! No wonder many scramble to enrol into nursing programmes all over the globe. It has never been easy for you graduands, but nothing good comes easy. This is not an understatement as one needs to be capable; physically, socially, intellectually and emotionally, with the special grace of God to surmount the numerous challenges encountered during the just concluded programme. I, therefore, say congratulations.

"Finally, permit me to remind these new products of a great department in a great institution of the need to act great in their performance of duties to their clients irrespective of setting, age, race or creed. Be an epitome of humility and service because you are wonderfully made polyvalent nurses", the Head of Department said.

The Secretary-General/Registrar of Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, Dr Faruk Abubakar, appealed to the new graduates to strictly adhere to the ethics of the nursing profession if they must succeed in their new career and service to humanity.

He told the graduates that a lot was being expected from them as polyvalent graduate nurses because the profession is tremendously demanding, embellished in compassion and helpfulness; meaning that nurses are required to be compassionate, kind and attentive in dealing with patients.

To succeed, Abubakar emphasised that the new nurses must, "adhere to ethics of the nursing profession, display humility and honesty in the course of your practice at all times."

Abubakar, while noting the graduating nurses have attained a high standard of education with clinical skills that will enable them to render safe and effective health care to the citizenry, warned that they will be fully accountable for their own decisions, actions and attitude.

"As graduate nurses, you must be able to perform nursing skills in a variety of health care settings, therapeutically assisting individuals, families and communities with diverse backgrounds (religion, culture, belief, social status, etc.) and resolve their health issues. 

"In doing this, you need to understand the psychosocial and physical factors involved in the alleviation of suffering, promotion, maintenance and restoration of health, and be able to function independently and collaboratively with other health care professionals in course of your practice in any health care setting. You should be able to develop, initiate strategies for health promotion, implement and evaluate such strategies for necessary outcomes," he said.

Abubakar lauded PAMO University for the great work it is doing in contributing highly qualified manpower to the medical sector of the country, particularly in nursing. He described the induction of fresh graduate nurses into the system as a mark of great joy, especially at a time when the country is faced with a mass exodus of medical workers.

He expressed confidence in the quality of products the university is producing, noting that the institution is world-class and its products are competent and professional in every sphere of nursing care delivery.

"What we are witnessing is a mark of joy to us, especially at a period when the country is faced with high turbulence of brain drain of nurses and midwives and this world-class institution is today adding to the number of Nigerian workforce."

On what stands PAMO out among institutions training nurses in Nigeria, the NMCN boss simply said: "PAMO is exceptionally high because it is founded with the mission of providing highly excellent and qualified health professionals, nursing inclusive, plus other professionals for the country.

" From the beginning, NMCN provided advisory approval, provided accreditations and every professional technical advice is invested into the university. I want to clearly say that PAMO is one of the great universities that was able to produce graduate nurses within the time limit or record time of the commencement without any setback. That is why I said that PAMO is exceptional. From the beginning when the academic process commenced in early 2018, till today that we are injecting highly competent graduate nurses that are competent in nursing, midwifery and public health into the country's workforce.

"I want to say again that PAMO is exceptional in the sense that they were able to inject graduates that underwent training within the limited time provided by law, provided by the NUC and NMCN. That is what makes it exceptional without adding a single day to those students that underwent this training. I believe it is another source of joy not only to the graduate nursing students, even their parents and the entire nation will also benefit and that is what will make PAMO University exceptional because other universities spend 7, 8 and 9 years before they graduate, but PAMO from the inception in early 2018 to now in 2022, we are injecting this highly competent graduate nurses into our health institutions."

The high point of the occasion was when the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman Governing Council of the university, Dr. Peter Odili announced automatic employment for the newly graduated nurses after their internship. He also awarded N500,000 to the overall best-graduated student, and N100,000 to each of the inductees, among other things. The former Rivers State governor further pledged that each inductee will get a laptop, a stethoscope, a thermometer, a nurse's clock/watch, and a nurse's bag.

"The best graduating student has shown extraordinary attention to what they were here for in their hard work and dedication and for that reason, members of the governing board have agreed that each of the students will receive N100,000, the best in the various sub-departments will get N200,000, the best graduating inductee, will get N500,000," he disclosed.

Odili urged them to ensure that they represent the school well, wherever they find themselves in the future. He also tasked them with the need to always give honour and great respect to their parents, Governor Nyesom Wike and the state government for their contributions in helping them achieve their dreams.

Source: ThisDay Newspaper

Out of about 250 students at the state schools of nursing in Agbor, Eku and Warri, Delta State, 219 are poised to miss council examinations after their principals failed to produce their index and examination numbers.

The students, who had paid about N98,000 examination fee and N15,000 test fee each, told FIJ on Tuesday that they did not have index and examination numbers yet.



"We could not write our council exams today and this is the result of a problem that started in 2019," a nursing student who asked not to be named said on Tuesday.

"In our first year as nursing students, we paid for indexing twice. We paid for the same indexing three other times, making it five payments for the same process. The officials claimed that the people who previously did the indexing did not do the authentic one.

"Around July this year, our school (School of Nursing, Agbor) told us to pay N98,000 for the council examination. We were given a short notice, and we also paid N15,000 for a computer-based test. That CBT test never happened."

The students had approximately one week to raise money for their council examination fee.

Another student at the school of nursing in Agbor confirmed what the first student told FIJ.

"We were in temporary accommodation in Asaba for the examination that would have taken place today. It was almost 12 o'clock in the night when the Director of Nursing Services and our principals came to address us with armed men. They told us that only 31 students from the three nursing schools had index and examination numbers," the student said.

"We had paid for this council examination in July, we paid N98,000 for the exam. They did not tell us that we did not have our index number until a night before the exam. We had also paid N15,000 for a CBT test but we never got to do that test."

Each student paid a total N113,000 for the CBT test and council examination. FIJ found that 219 nursing students, who had paid N24,747,000 in total, were prevented from writing the council examination because they had no index and examination number.

Gloria Ogobumn, the Director of Nursing Services, Delta State, told the students that most of them could not get their index and examination numbers due to a technical problem from the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) headquarters.

According to another student who spoke with FIJ, Ogobumn was lying about the technical glitch from the NMCN headquarters.

"After they told us the problem was from Abuja, we called the headquarters. They told us that the NMCN had no issues with the schools in Delta State," the student said.

"We had found out that the portal was not yet open when they asked us to pay N98,000 for the council examination. Delta State University's nursing students did not have any issues with their own registration. I also understand that they did not pay as much as the N98,000 we paid."

The student also told FIJ that over 200 students from Agbor, Eku and Warri marched to the examination centre to stage a protest on Tuesday.

"DELSU nursing students were at the exam centre, ready to write the exam. We had to protest and insist that no one would be allowed to write the exams if the rest of us couldn't. There were about 90 students from each of Agbor, Eku and Warri," said the student.

Both students said that Mordi Ononye, Delta State Commissioner for Health, went to the examination centre to meet the protesting students.

No one wrote the nursing council examination on Tuesday. FIJ learnt that Ononye asked every nursing student to return to their campus.

"I don't know what will happen to our money and academic year now," a student said.

FIJ sent a mail to the NMCN's email addresses but got an automated response. They had not sent a reply to FIJ at press time.

Source:Fij

Vice chancellor of the University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED), Prof Adesegun Fatusi, has expressed worry over increasing cases of doctors and other healthcare workers leaving the country for greener pastures.

Prof Fatusi who said the Nigerian government should not continue to train nurses and doctors, for them to end up in Europe, noted that the government needs to come up with a policy statement that will discourage such a move.



Speaking in Akure, the Ondo State capital during the monthly programme, Circuit, organised by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ondo State Radiovision Corporation (OSRC) chapel, the VC lamented that nurses, doctors and other medical personnel who are trained at very affordable fee end up going abroad, without the country gaining anything from them.

According to him, there is a need for these sets of medical professionals to work for the country before they are released to travel out.

While disclosing that the first set of medical students in the university will graduate by the first quarter of 2023, he said the next convocation exercise of the institution has been postponed to the first quarter of 2023, to accommodate the medical students.

Source: Leadership Newspaper

Over 300 angry final-year students of the three schools of Nursing and the State University, Abraka in Delta State on Tuesday protested in Asaba for several hours over the failure of the school authorities to enrol them for the National Nursing and Midwifery Council Examinations.



The protesters drawn from the Schools in Warri, Eku and Agbor were expected to write their examination yesterday at the CBT Center, Delta State Library Board along Maryam Babangida way in Asaba only to be informed late that they were not registered for the examination after paying for it.

It was alleged that the state Director, Nursing Services, Mrs Gloria Igumbor, who went to pacify the students were held hostage at the venue of the Examination.

Meanwhile, the examination has been put on hold pending when all the contending issues are sorted out.

The Delta State Commissioner for Health, Dr Mordi Ononye announced this when he addressed the students at the examination venue.

He revealed that the decision was reached after the intervention of the Federal Minister of Health, Registrar and Deputy Registrar of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria and the Delta State Ministry of Health.

"The issue is that the Registrar of the Nursing and Midwifery Council is out of the country presently and I am in touch with him.

"By next week every issue concerning the indexing and enrollment would be fully resolved and a new date will be given for Delta State which will obviously be in the next couple of days".

The Commissioner said the state Governor has directed him to personally intervene in the matter and so he will be going to Abuja next week to meet with the Registrar when he returns from his trip outside the shores of the country with a view to resolving the issue.

Explaining the processes that led to the writing of the final examination, Dr Ononye said that "after six months into the programme, the students would write the PTS Examination and if successful they are indexed and given an index number by the Indexing Officer who is a Staff of the Schools and appointed by the Nursing Council.

According to the Commissioner, the evidence available to the Ministry of Health indicated that the Indexing fees were paid to the Nursing and Midwifery Council, but for reasons yet to be determined, not all of the students were given index numbers, without which they cannot be enrolled for the examination.

He apologised to the students for the discomfort and inconveniences the change of the examination date has caused them and charged the students to conduct themselves properly and not to take laws into their hands as a new date will be communicated to them.


Source: Tribune

A little known Nigerian princess, whose 30-year British nursing career included joining Guy's Hospital in the 1930s, is finally gaining recognition and inspiring a new generation of nurses.



Before the NHS was founded in 1948, many people from Africa, India and the Caribbean trained as nurses in British hospitals.

In 1935, Princess Omo-Oba Adenrele Ademola came to Britain at the age of 22, and is recorded as a midwife. She was the daughter of the Alake of Abeokuta, a significant king in southern Nigeria.

From 1939, Princess Ademola is included in the list of nurses on St Saviour's ward at Guy's Hospital. She trained there, passed her nursing exams and officially became a registered nurse in 1941.

Princess Ademola was popular among patients, who affectionately called her 'fairy'. When describing her experience at Guy's Hospital to journalists, she said: "Everyone was very kind to me."

After training as a nurse at Guy's Hospital, Princess Ademola gained Central Midwives Board qualifications. She then cared for patients at other London hospitals during the Second World War.

In the mid-1940s, the Colonial Film Unit made a film about Princess Ademola's life and experience as a nurse.

This silent documentary film called Nurse Ademola showed 'an African nurse at various phases of training at one of the great London hospitals'.

It is thought to have inspired many others in west Africa to train as a nurse abroad. Sadly, the film is now lost.

According to the National Archives, this missing film symbolises 'the wider historical absence of African women'.

In spite of her royal status and contribution to British nursing, the historical records about Princess Ademola are not detailed or complete.

Her name is written in five different ways in the National Archives and this has caused confusion.

The last record of Princess Ademola is in 1949 when she was working as a nurse in South Kensington. Nothing is known abouot her life after that.

Jill Eastmond, a deputy dental matron at Guy's and St Thomas', said: "Princess Ademola was obviously a strong-minded person.

"I think any black woman who came to England at that time, and was successful, should be recognised and applauded. They showed such bravery.

"She was beautiful, she was a royal, so could perhaps have been anything she wanted to be, but she chose to be a nurse.

"I want to follow in her footsteps, to stand on the shoulders of these ancestors, and to celebrate them every day.

"This drives me to be the best I can be in my profession. They have had a positive impact on the way I conduct myself inside and outside of work.



"By sharing her story, I hope young black people will think seriously about a career in healthcare — there are lots of different careers available.

"We need healthcare workers who are representative of the people in Lambeth and Southwark. This is good for our patients."

Avey Bhatia, chief nurse at Guy's and St Thomas', said: "Nurses from black and ethnic minority backgrounds have contributed richly to our healthcare system for generations.

"It is important that we honour the legacy of nurses from abroad.

"Princess Ademola is an historical role model for anyone entering the nursing profession and those who have committed their working lives to caring for others."

Source: London News Online

Another edition of the  MCPDP,* organized by Katsina state MCPDP committee

 NMCN Certified with 3 Continuous Education Unit (CEU)

The upcoming module is detailed hereunder .

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IMPROVING HEALTH THROUGH 
 *Medical/Surgical Nursing

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 TIME* : 8 am to 4 pm daily
 VENUE* : School of Nursing Katsina,
REGISTRATION: 20,000 naira payable into
Acct no: Acc no 0005489934, Katsina state MCPDP committee
Bank : access bank PLC Limited slots available.*
For payment, registration and expression of interest for slot reservation, contact this  *number( calls, sms, whatsapp)
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In an attempt to improve the delivery of public health services in Antigua and Barbuda, plans are being put in place to recruit a number of nurses from Ghana.



Health Minister, Sir Molwyn Joseph, made the announcement to Cabinet during its weekly meeting on Wednesday.

Two weeks ago, Barbados successfully recruited over 100 English-speaking nurses from the West African nation who have been trained to meet US standards and have several years of experience – all characteristics that bode well for their potential introduction into the system here in Antigua and Barbuda.

Local nurses have complained for some time about a lack of staff, and while there is no word yet on the number of nurses that could make their way from Ghana to the twin island nation, the recruitment should go some way to fill the gap.

It is also not clear what stage the recruitment process is at, or when the new nurses will likely arrive in the country – with the report saying only that "the process has started".

However, Chief of Staff in the Office of the Prime Minister, Lionel 'Max' Hurst, said the nurses will be assigned to specific medical institutions based upon necessity.

"We anticipate that they will fill some needs but may very likely be dispersed to the clinics as well as to the hospital and the emergency care centre that was established on Nugent Avenue," he told yesterday's post-Cabinet press briefing.

"As you also know, we are building a new renal centre where the Edward Ward once stood at the Holberton Hospital and, in all likelihood, we are going to see some nurses with some competence in that particular area who will be able to assist those who are on dialysis," Hurst said.

He explained that the government will be "relying heavily on the Barbadian model" to map the way forward in this regard.

Meanwhile, "a consultant is to be brought on board to draft a plan for making the nation's polyclinics more efficient and better staffed," the notes from Wednesday's Cabinet meeting stated.

This is intended to address the issue of many patients heading to the hospital for emergency care when they require urgent care instead.

"The public clinics, therefore, are not being utilised for the purposes intended, because medical practitioners are frequently not present," the notes added.

However, no timeline was given for when the consultancy would begin, or when the changes will take effect.

The former Governor of Rivers State, Dr Peter Odili, has announced automatic employment for the newly graduated  nurses of Pamo University of Medical Sciences (PUMS), Port Harcourt.

This is as the Nursing and Midwifery  Council of Nigeria (NMCN), has expressed confidence on the quality of products the university is graduating.

Odili, who is a Pro-chancellor and Chairman Governing Council of the university made the announcement yesterday at the induction/oath taking ceremony for the new Nurses held at the University campus in Iriebe area of the Rivers state.

The pro-chancellor, who announced the immediate employment after their internship, also awarded N500, 000 for the overall best graduated student, and N100,000 for each of the inductees, among other things

 The graduated nurses include: Samchisadede Glad, Ajoku Chukwuemeka, Nwokogba Melody, Thompson Pamela, Chimankpam Sarimazinuchi, Vinebo Vanessa, Romeo Favour, Benson Elizabeth, Olumati Maxwell, Bruce Hearty, Dagogo Lolia, Ikpe Mercy and Kio Tatie.

The inducted nurses were the first set of students admitted into the department of Nursing Sciences, when the university started five years ago.

However, Odili tasked them on the need to always give honour and great respect to their parents, Governor Nyesom Wike and the state government for their contributions in helping them achieve their dreams.

He said: "The best graduating student has shown extraordinary attention to what they were here for in their hard work and dedication and for that reason, members of the governing board have agreed that each of the students will receive N100,000, the best in the various sub-departments will get N200,000, the  best graduating inductee, will get N500,000.

"Each inductee will get laptop, a stethoscope, a Thermometer,  a Nurses clock/watch, and a Nurses bag."

He urged them to ensure they represent the school well, wherever they find themselves in the future.

Earlier during an interaction with journalists, the Registrar/Secretary General, Nursing and Midwifery  Council of Nigeria (NMCN), Alhj. Farouk Abubakar lauded the PUMS for the great work it is doing to increase the manpower base of the medical sector of the country, particularly in Nursing care.

Abubakar described the induction of fresh graduate Nurses into the system as a mark of great joy, moreso, coming at a time when the country is faced with mass exodus of medical workers.

He expressed confidence in the quality of products the University is graduating , noting that the institution is world class and its products are competent and professional in every sphere of Nursing care delivery.

"What we are witnessing today is a mark of joy to us, especially at a period when the country is faced with high turbulent of brain drain of Nurses and midwives and this world class institution is today adding to the number to Nigerian workforce."

In her keynote Lecture, the Resource person, Mrs. Gift Cornelian-Timighe charged the graduates to ensure integrity, hard work and teamwork while carrying out their nursing duties.

Source: This Day