Governor Chimaroke Nnamani of Enugu State has appealed to medical doctors at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, currently on strike, to return to work to reduce the agony of their patients.

The governor who spoke while declaring open this year’s Florence Nightingale Nurses Week of the UNTH, also appealed to the management of the hospital to provide enabling environment for the doctors to come back to work

The governor described nursing as a noble profession, and said that the nurse represents the true concept of human being.

He disclosed that the state government had embarked on a number of reforms of the health sector designed to make health services reach the greater number of people of the state. Some of these reforms, he said, include the creation of health districts, expansion of health facilities to keep pace with increased awareness in health care delivery, establishment of a teaching hospital as well as equipping the School of Nursing of Parklane Specialist Hospital to ensure its accreditation by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria.

The governor also stated that the state government had introduced the School Meal Plus Programme to enable it monitor and evaluate the performance and growth of school children.

Governor Nnamani who also declared open the Florence Nightingale Nurses Week of the State Ministry of Health and the State Health Management Board commended the Director of the State Nursing Services, Mrs. Vero Akilo for pioneering the Nurses Week.

He expressed happiness that the nurses had understood and appreciated the on-going reforms in the state’s health sector, and appealed to them to continue top render humanitarian services to the people.

The governor later cut the anniversary cake of the two groups for N100,000 each and donated a multi-purpose bus for the UNTH nurses.

Earlier, the State Director of Nursing Services, Mrs. Vero Akilo had told the governor that nurses in the state appreciated the encouragement and support from the state government, and assured him that they were poised to increase their performances.

She however appealed to the governor to approve the takeoff of the School of Basic Midwifery Programme aat Awgu, the allocation of accommodation to house the Unit of Continuing Education/Research and Computer Literacy Programme, the reactivation of the IMT based Nurse/Midwives/Psychiatric Tutors Training Programme, and the establishment of psychiatric base clinic in each senatorial zone in the state.

In her speech, the Chairperson of the UNTH Nurses Week, Dr. (Mrs.) Ofoegbu called for reforms in the education of nurses.
She stated that there was the need to make changes in the admission criteria for nurses in their curriculum as well as in the method of teaching them.

“Every nurse should have the skill of a nurse educator, they should ensure the education of their patients and their relations”, she said.