By Omos Oyinbode
Amidst the calculated benefits derivable from Governor Okowa’s Contributory Health Insurance Scheme, practicing nurses in Delta State have kicked against the programme, saying nurses and hospitals are not prepared for the scheme.
State Chairman of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, Comrade Ejiro Egbedi, made the observation during the public hearing of the bill presented by the state governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, at the floor of the State House of Assembly on Monday.
The fears of the nurses were heightened following the massive failure of the Contributory Pension Scheme in the state and the National Housing Fund which has become impossible to access among civil servants, both serving and retired.
Represented by Comrade Alice Jegede, the nurses said the hospitals in the state lacked facilities to attend to the upsurge of patients, noting that the intention of the state government should be looked into before rushing into passing the bill into law.
According to her, “as nurses, majority wins the vote, so if others say they want it, I think the nurses have to key in. But we still have our fears and reservations because we don’t want anything to be imposed on us. We want it to be optional or when it’s not working, we can be allowed to pull out as a body.
“You know sometimes when men are looking at certain things in one way, the women look at it carefully. That’s why our presentation was different from others. Because most of the things they put up do not work. But when everybody says they want it, there is nothing we can do about it.
“The hospitals are not prepared for the programme. That’s why we said the hospitals are not ready for it. The manpower is not there because when they put up this scheme, there will be influx of patients into the hospitals, we are the nurses that will care for those patients. We are not prepared at all. We are not ready at all for this programme”.
