Emergency nurses in Nigeria, on Thursday, expressed concern over what they called poor working condition in most government hospital across the country.

Chairman, Emergency Nurses Association of Nigeria, Oyo State branch, Mrs Filicia Illimms, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan.

Illimms, a senior nurse at the emergency unit of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, said most of the emergency nurses usually depended on use of torch to dress patients’ wounds, particularly at night.

She said that if the trend should be allowed to continue, it might further worsen the mass exodus of nurses currently being witnessed in the health sector.

According to the health practitioner, most of the basic things that can make nursing profession attractive, particularly to those working in government-owned hospitals, are lacking.

“I did not attend to you in time because we don’t have enough nurses who can attend to patients on emergency.

“For instance, we have only four to six emergency nurses doing the work of 56 nurses. How will there be efficiency and promptness in the discharge of their duties?

“To worsen the situation, most of the time in the night, we resort to use of torch to administer drugs and dress the wounds of patients.

“In fact, the condition of the environment under which we operate is generally not ideal and secure,” Illimms said.

She stated that Nigerians must understand the background to the ‘japa’ syndrome, particularly in the country’s health sector, before blaming nurses and other medical practitioners.

Corroborating Illimms’s submission, Dr Samuel Adeyemi, Chairman, National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Oyo State chapter, said that there was shortage of nurses in Nigerian hospitals.

This, Adeyemi said, was one of the challenges facing the profession in the country today.

According to him, the World Health Organisation (WHO) prescribes that there should be a ratio of one nurse to four patients, adding, however, that it is one nurse to between 50 and 100 patients in Nigeria at present.

“Most of the time, our members are faced with the problem of inadequate facilities to work with on daily basis.

“Worst still, poor water and electricity supply in the hospitals has remained the order of the day, while nurses have to labour under such extreme circumstances to deliver.

“Imagine nurses being placed on 12 hours shift in order to save lives while their own well-being and welfare are not given priority,” he said.

Adeyemi recalled that recently, nurses at UCH refused to wear their uniforms due to non-payment of uniform allowance for years.

He said that while medical doctors are being paid N25,000 as uniform allowance, nurses receive N20,000, expressing the regret, however, that the allowances were not being paid as an when due.

“But, I heard that the matter has been resolved between the nurses and UCH authorities, at least, for now,” Adeyemi stated.

NAN recalls that Oct. 11of every year has been set aside by UN “to shine a light on and appreciate the outstanding commitment of emergency nursing professionals” from around the globe.