The decision followed an agreement reached at a meeting between the federal government and the association’s National Executive Council, NEC, on August 1.

The suspension notice, made available to newsmen in Abuja on Saturday, was signed by NANNM National President, Mr Haruna Mamman, and its National Secretary, Dr T.A. Shettima.

According to the notice, the decision to suspend the strike was taken during a NEC meeting held on Saturday, August 2, to deliberate on the outcome of negotiations with the federal government.

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The meeting involved the Ministers of Health, Labour and Employment, and other key stakeholders.

The notice stated that after an extensive review of the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, and the agreed time-bound implementation framework, the NEC resolved to suspend the strike.

The NEC acknowledged the positive steps taken by the federal government in addressing the association’s nine core demands.

It also directed the national leadership to continue monitoring the implementation of the signed MoU and to track government compliance with the agreed timelines.

In addition, all state councils had been instructed to mobilise members for immediate resumption of duty.

“NEC resolved that no member of NANNM, including interns and locum nurses, should be victimised for participating in the nationwide nurses’ strike,” the notice said.

The NEC also expressed appreciation for the commitment and solidarity of members throughout the industrial action, reaffirming that NANNM remained steadfast in defending the welfare, dignity, and professional rights of all nurses and midwives in Nigeria.

Source: NAN

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The Secretary of the Lagos State chapter of the association, Mr Oloruntoba Odumosu, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Lagos.

Nigerian nurses, under the aegis of NANNM, had embarked on a seven-day warning strike on July 30 to press home some demands.

The strike, which follows expiration of a 15-day ultimatum the association gave to the government, is coming amid a faceoff between doctors and the government over welfare and other issues.

Odumosu told NAN that the government was to hold a meeting with national leaders of the union on Thursday to dialogue to resolve the issues leading to the warning strike.

He said that the outcome of the meeting would guide the association’s next line of action.

“Because it is a national issue and a national strike, we are not engaging the Lagos State Government; we can only put pressure on the Federal Government to listen to us.

“These demands have been long overdue; some of them are things that are four decades old.

“Ordinarily, we should have lost patience a long time ago. This is the first time the association has gone on strike as NANNM in over two decades.

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“Before we called for this strike, we had given the government an ultimatum which it failed to address; rather, it was addressing the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, and meeting with the members,” he said.

He said that nurses were the largest professional group in the health sector, urging the government to meet the demands.

“We want to stop brain drain, but we can’t if the policies are not there to address our concerns.

“We appeal to the government to accede to our demands quickly so that we can end this needless suffering and loss of lives among patients,” he said.

According to him, monitoring teams are on ground in all Lagos primary, secondary and tertiary public hospitals to ensure full compliance with the industrial action.

The strike has paralysed healthcare services nationwide, leaving patients stranded and putting pressure on other health professionals.

The nurses’ demands include gazetting of the Nurses Scheme of Service approved by the National Council on Establishment in 2016, upward review of professional allowance for nurses and midwives, and employment of more nurses.

The others include provision of adequate health facilities, creation of a department of nursing in the Federal Ministry of Health, and implementation of a National Industrial Court judgment of Jan. 27, 2012.

The NMA has also given the Federal Government a 21-day ultimatum to meet its demands or face an indefinite nationwide strike by medical doctors.

Source: NAN

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The meeting held at the Lagos House Marine was to address the grievances of the nursing workforce in the state.

At the end of the two hours meeting, both the government and the union agreed on a number of issues that had been causing disaffection between the two parties.

Sanwo-Olu pledged government’s sincerity in the implementation of all that was agreed on, to the delight of the representatives of the nurses.

“We prioritise quality healthcare delivery in Lagos State and our nurses are very important to achieving our objective,” he said.

On his part, the Chairman, Lagos State Council of the Nigerian Association of Nurses and Midwives, Mr Olurotimi Awojide, thanked Governor Sanwo-Olu for acceding to most of their requests.

Awojide described the governor as a true leader and father who cared about his children.

He promised to call an emergency congress of the association on Monday, where the union would announce its decision to call off the planned industrial action.

Recall that NANNM, Lagos State Council, had ordered its members to embark on a three-day warning strike from January 10, over unmet demands by the Lagos State Government.

Source: NAN

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The strike took effect from the midnight of  April 13, it said in a statement jointly signed by the Chairman of NANNM, Roseline Solarin, and the state NMA chairman, Dr Oladayo Ogunlaja.

It described the alleged recent kidnappings of health workers as “disheartening, repugnant and unacceptable.”

It added that  the state government’s approach of not negotiating with the alleged  kidnappers of the nurses had made them believe  that their lives and property were of no essence to the government.

It alleged that the state had not shown any commitment that could facilitate the early release of their members, hence, the decision to down tools.

“The recent kidnapping of health workers after rendering their services to the good citizens of Ogun  is so disheartening, repugnant and unacceptable.

“Recall that  Dr Oladunni Adetola and Mrs Bamgbose, a  nurse, were precisely abducted on the 7th of April, making it six days in incarceration.

“Also, another dental therapist working at the General Hospital, Ijebu-Igbo,  was abducted today on her way to work.

“In the light of these, there is immediate withdrawal of  services of our members from all institutions in Ogun  until the safety of our members  is guaranteed,” it said.

Source: NAN

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LASUTH Chief Medical Director, Prof. Tokunboh Fabamwo, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, on Saturday in Lagos.

NAN recalls that the hospital had earlier on Saturday confirmed the death of a patient who tested positive to COVID-19, saying the patient died at its Institute of Maternal and Child Health (Ayinke House), LASUTH.

Fabamwo said: “All the doctors took precautions when attending to the patient.

“When the woman was about to die, and was gasping for breath, the nurses rushed to her and tried to do pulmonary resuscitation on her.

“They moved more closely to her. Though, they were protected, we felt that because of that closeness, we should isolate them so that they won’t go home and be a risk to their families.”

He said the patient’s corpse had been evacuated with usual protocol, adding that her husband’s blood sample had been taken for COVID-19 test.

The chief medical director added that they were waiting for the deceased husband’s test result.

He disclosed that the hospital would enhance its Triage protocol far from the emergency centre, by erecting a tent to screen for temperatures of visitors and patients during visit to the health facility.

Fabamwo said that anyone with high temperatures would be isolated and handed over to officials of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC.

The deceased patient was said to be suffering from puerperal sepsis and was transferred from the Alimosho General Hospital to the Emergency Unit of LASUTH.

However, the patient died in the course of her treatment.

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