Psychiatric Hospital slams NANNM over strike action

From Femi Oyelola in Kaduna

The management of Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Kaduna, has said it remains committed to saving lives despite the ongoing strike action by the local chapter of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM).

In a statement signed by the Head of Information and Protocol, Usman Toma Haruna, the management argued that “the primary responsibility of any medical professional is to save lives, but NANNM officials, by their conduct, have shown that their welfare is more paramount than ethics.”

The statement noted that the NANNM local chapter at the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Kaduna, has embarked on a strike over the stagnation and non-promotion of some of its members.

“Before the strike, the Top Management Committee (TMC) of the hospital met with the leadership of the union twice to resolve their grievances. They explained that the issue is beyond the management because it is an institutional matter.

“The TMC told them that the hospital currently does not have a board, so it is the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, in collaboration with the Office of the Head of Service, that can statutorily address the issue,” the statement noted.

According to Malam Usman, the TMC pleaded with the unionists to shelve the strike action, adding that all its pleas “fell on deaf ears, as the local chapter of NANNM did not heed their counsel.”

The statement disclosed that the Medical Director, Prof. Aishatu Yushau Armiyau, took steps to prevent the grounding of the entire hospital by arranging for nurses to man the dialysis center, which serves infectious disease patients across Kaduna State and neighboring states.

“NANNM officials tried to sabotage the temporary arrangement, which will ameliorate the suffering of patients, by threatening the nurses to abandon the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital. The patriotic nurses stood their ground and offered services to the sick,” it added.

The statement disclosed that the state leadership of NANNM trespassed into the hospital to actualize their threat of disrupting services and to address a press conference.

“Much as it is the right of NANNM officials to go on strike to press for their members’ demands, following due process, it is very wrong to threaten nurses who volunteered to work at the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Kaduna, to save lives.

“The primary responsibility of any medical professional is to save lives, but NANNM officials, by their conduct, have shown that their welfare is more paramount than ethics,” the statement reminded.

Malam Usman pointed out that the management of Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Kaduna, is open to dialogue but will not compromise its duty to save the lives of ordinary Nigerians who have no alternative medical facility.