The National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) chapter, on Wednesday condemned the incessant assault on its members of families of their patients.
Speaking in Jos, the capital of Plateau, during maiden the celebration of Emergency Nurses Day, the chapter chairperson, Victoria Samson lamented nursing has become an endangered profession due to the constant assault by members of the public who bring their relatives for treatment.
She said, the relatives of the patients believe the nurses are slow while discharging their duties.
“We implore our management to beef up security at the Accident and Emergency (A&E) unit to address assault of our members because some are always beaten up there,” she said.
She appealed for the establishment of laboratories at the units for quick investigation of emergency cases to speed up their treatment.
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Ms Samson also suggested the stationing of an ambulance bay to facilitate easy conveyance of patients to other units.
“It will address public interference because some people just want to take pictures of serious cases, and this is against our ethics and an invasion of the patient’s privacy,” she said.
Also speaking, the coordinator of the Accident and Emergency Unit of JUTH, Paula Barnabas, commended the nurses for the effort they put into discharging their duties and urged them to always exhibit patience, calmness under pressure and compassion while attending to patients.
She also extended her goodwill to the management of JUTH for approving special allowances for the A&E nurses, saying it would boost their morale and push them to serve humanity more.
In his remarks, the acting chief medical officer of JUTH, Pokop Bupwatda, said the management was doing its best to address the shortage of manpower, not only in the unit but in the hospital.
Emergency Nurses Day celebration originated in 1989 in Australia and is marked in recognition of the work and dedication of emergency nurses worldwide.
It is celebrated annually on every second Wednesday of October.