. . . As Health Service Commission Holds 13th Nurses Scientific Conference
The First Lady of Lagos State, Dr. (Mrs.) Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu has expressed gratitude to all nurses for rendering selfless service to residents and encouraged them to continually display integrity and professionalism in discharging their duties as caregivers.
Dr. Sanwo-Olu spoke at the Lagos State Health Service Commission’s 13th Annual Nurses Scientific Conference with the theme: “Nurses: A Voice to Lead, Invest in Nursing and Respect Rights to Secure Global Health”.
She said: “Nurses are resilient and dynamic. Their efforts are duly recognised by Mr. Governor. Sadly, we need to go back to the drawing board to see why there is a high rate of brain drain in the sector. I commend the nursing practitioners and thank all nurses on behalf of the citizens of Lagos State”.
Also speaking at the event, the Special Guest of Honour and former First Lady of Kwara State, who is also the Founder/President of Wellbeing Foundation Africa, Mrs. Toyin Saraki, applauded the Lagos State Health Service Commission for its initiatives in ensuring that Lagos and Nigeria have a pool of highly skilled and motivated health workers who are committed to their jobs.
She also advised Nigerians to treat Nurses and Midwives with high regard, pointing out that they are critical stakeholders in the health sector.
The Permanent Secretary, Primary Healthcare Board, Dr. Akinwunmi Ibrahim Mustapha and his counterpart in the Health Service Commission, Dr. Benjamin Eniayewun urged nurses to carry out their duties in line with the T.H.E.M.E.S Agenda, just as they maintained that nurses are not to be relegated and must be accorded their rightful place in the health sector.
Earlier, Director of Nursing Services, Health Service Commission, Mrs. Adebukola Oluwabusayo Cole, thanked Dr. Sanwo-Olu and Mrs. Saraki for their positive impact on the lives of women in the country, informing that the conference was designed to discuss contemporary issues affecting nurses and proffer possible solutions.
She listed some of their needs to include the establishment of another College of Nursing at Lagos State University of Technology (LASUTECH), Ikorodu, more incentives for midwives, accommodation for intern nurses and international training for the nurses among others.
In her paper presentation, Professor Florence Oluyemisi Adeyemo of the Faculty of Nursing Science, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho, said that nurses have vital roles to play as advocates of health promotion ranging from direct patient care to case management.
Noting that the global dearth of nurses must be addressed, Prof. Adeyemo observed the need for strengthening the nursing workforce, governance and management because the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Africa posits that about 60 nurses per 10,000 people would be required to attain at least 70 per cent Universal Health Coverage.
The Professor posited that nurses migrate to industrialised countries for financial, professional and political reasons, hence their welfare must be given utmost importance to reduce the brain drain.
Other dignitaries in attendance included the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr. Olusegun Ogboye; Chairman, Lagos State Health Service Commission, Dr. (Mrs.) Adetoun Onayiga; the Ayangburen of Ikorodu, HRH Oba Kabiru Shotobi; Commissioners I, II and IV in LSHSC, Dr. Sholanke, Dr. Olukoya and Mrs. Kemi Ogunremi, respectively, among other personalities.
