By Yetunde Fatungase
Abeokuta – Mrs Patience Odutayo, the Director of Nursing Services, Ogun State Hospital Management Board, on Thursday said that nurses were free to establish clinics and maternity homes if necessary requirements are met.
Odutayo said this in an interview with journalists shortly after a leadership workshop for Ogun Government Nurses in Abeokuta.
The theme of the programme is tagged “Role of the Nurse Leaders; Upholding Nursing Integrity and Nurses welfare”.
She explained that a nurse who wanted to establish and operate a clinic and maternity homes must be educated and licensed from appropriate authority and follow laid down rules and regulations.
The director however warned that the state government frowned at professionals practicing illegally, warning that anyone caught will face the wrath of the law.
“In Ogun state we don’t give room for people practicing illegally; once you are caught, you face the wrath of the law,” she said.
On the theme of the programme, she explained that the event was coming at the right time, saying that for every association to move forward, leaders must be up to standard.
The director enjoined nursing leaders to uphold the ethics of the profession and also keep the work environment safe for members of staff to perform better.
Mrs Ronke Arowosegbe, the Chairperson, State Government Nurses Forum (SGNF), noted that the role of nurses in the health sector was critical and complementary.
She explained that the profession was faced with challenges especially in the areas of welfare and shortage of manpower, which had affected the nurses physically, psychologically, emotionally and spiritually.
“All these have effect on our family responsibilities; not able to do what is expected of you as a mother and wife. It affects our social and professional lives,” she said.
Arowosegbe stated that the nurse/patients ratio should be one nurse to four patients, saying that what applied in most hospitals is more than 10 patients to one nurse.
She implored the state Hospital Management Board to ensure that more nurses were employed and deployed appropriately.
Mrs Roseline Solarin, the State Chairman, National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwifery (NANNM), described the workshop as a way of encouraging and developing the nursing leaders and giving them more information on what they needed to know. (NAN)
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