Health workers demand improved welfare package in Kwara

The Kwara State Chairman of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Alhaji Aminu Shehu, has called on the state government to improve members’ welfare package.

Aminu made the appeal on Saturday in Ilorin while speaking on what he described as “the gross shortage of manpower of medical practitioners in the state”.

According to him, there are only 700 nurses in the state and for them to be sufficient and efficient in discharging their duties, government must employ 3,000 more and also ensure better welfare package.

“Last year, we mounted pressure on the state government to increase our salary and the governor increased it from 60 per cent to 70 per cent, but didn’t meet our expectations because we demanded for 100 per cent.

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“The governor employed more nurses last year, but they spent some time and left the service for better offer elsewhere.

“The solution to the problem is increment of salary from 70 per cent to 100 per cent; improve welfare package and payment of hazard allowance.

“We have written to the governor who asked us to bring the number of nurses in the state and number required to be employed,” he said.

Aminu decried the pathetic situation where one nurse attends to about 30 patients in Kwara, when ideally, it should be one nurse to four patients, saying the development was worrisome.