The Honourable
Minister for Health,
Federal Ministry
of Health (FMOH),
New Federal
Secretariat Complex Phase III, Ahmadu Bellow Way,
Central Business
District Abuja,
P.M.B.083, Garki,
Abuja,
Nigeria.
Attention:
The Permanent
Secretary, FMOH,
Director of Human
Resources, FMOH&
Director of
Nursing Service, FMOH, Abuja.
Sir,
BLATANT DISREGARD TO THE PROVISIONS OF
EXTANT CIRCULAR ON ENHANCED ENTRY POINT
FOR BACHELOR OF NURSING SCIENCE (B.N.Sc.) GRADUATES BY THE MANAGEMENT OF
THE UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA TEACHING HOSPITAL (UNTH), ENUGU, UNIVERSITY OF PORT
HARCOURT TEACHING HOSPITAL (UPTH), PORT HARCOURT, AND OTHERS: A REQUEST FOR
YOUR INTERVENTION
The National Executive Council of University Graduates of Nursing Science Association (UGONSA), also known as the Graduate Nurses Association of Nigeria (GNAN), a professional association of nurses with a minimum of first degree (B.Sc.Nursing/B.NSc.) in Nursing conveys the fraternal greetings of her members to you and your entire staff.
2. The association congratulates you on your well-deserved appointment as the Minister for Health by the President, HE. Sen. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR), the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Your appointment is a testimonial of your track record of hard work, dedication, and selfless service in your previous engagements.
6. Sir, the above circulars imply that while a fresh graduate of B.N.Sc/B.Sc. Nursing is appointed on GL10 (.i.e., CONHESS 09) post-NYSC (National Youth Service Corps) following the completion of a one-year internship programme; those that are already in service but are still below the new entry point of CONHESS 09 should be adjusted to the new base grade effective from 28th January, 2022 (. i.e., the date of approval by NCE)to maintain their seniority over new graduate nurses who just finished internship training and were employed into the civil service.
7. Sir, it may interest you to note that while the above-referenced circulars were officially and widely published by the OHCSF to the knowledge of all concerned and the various efforts made by this association and other interested stakeholders in nursing in achieving the implementation of the referred circulars, the management of some federal health institutions had shown no regard to the provisions of the extant circulars. Notably among them are the management of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, Enugu State, and the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), Port Harcourt, Rivers State, who had chosen to rubbish the circulars, insinuating that the FMOH is not aware of the circulars.
8. Sir, another ugly concern is the selective implementation of the circular by some heads of institutions. While some heads of institutions and facilities blatantly refused to implement the new circular, others are selectively implementing it as they wish without following the letters and dictates of the circulars. Some heads of facilities erroneously assert that nurses with a "B.N.Sc. degree" who were employed before the effective date of the circular (.i.e., 28th January, 2022) are not eligible for the adjustment to the new base grade even when they are still below the approved SGL, because they are already in service, while others, argues that adjustment will only affect "B.N.Sc./B.Sc.Nursing" nurses who show evidence of completion of an internship, a notable institution in this category among others is Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido-Ekiti, Ekiti State and Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
9. On this note, Sir, the association is pleased to inform you that while approval for a one-year internship scheme for University Graduate nurses was conveyed through circulars from the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation Ref. Nos. HCSF/EPO/EIR/CND/100/ST dated 7th September, 2016, and HCSF/EIR/CND/100/ST/97 dated 8th September, 2016 (please refer to Annexure C I&II), the modalities for its commencement were contained in a circular Ref. No. N&MCN/SG/RO/CIR/24/VOL.4/4 dated 3rd February, 2017 by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (N&MAC) (please refer to Annexure D). Consequently, our monitoring and evaluation of the situation revealed that effective implementation by institutions took effect by 2018. As such, nurses who graduated before and around this period were not mobilized by their graduating universities for internships but for NYSC (National Youth Service Corp). Therefore, it is unfair and unjust for the heads of institutions to punish them for not participating in the one-year internship scheme that was non-existent when they graduated and were mobilized for NYSC. Since they have already completed the one-year NYSCprogramme and are already employed and worked for more than a year and have more cognate experience than what obtains from an internship. It is very unfair that their recently employed juniors are placed at a higher level than them despite having the same B.N.Sc/B.Sc. Nursing qualification.
10. The same is also applicable to Registered Nurses (RNs) who acquired their bachelor's degree in nursing through a direct entry (DE), work and study programme (WASP), or open and distance learning such as the National Open University (NOUN). Because these RNs have B.N.Sc/B.Sc, Nursing, and a cognate experience that supersedes what afforded by the one-year internship, it is an injustice to allow them to remain below their newly employed juniors, whereas the extant circular stipulated that all those below the new base should be adjusted effective from the date of approval of the enhanced-entry point.
11. Sir, at this point, when all well-meaning public office holders who are representatives of the government at various levels are expected to play their part in line with the renewed hope and agenda of the President to ease tension and ameliorate the current pains occasioned by the economic reforms and policies of the present administration, the actions of these Chief Medical Directors (CMDs)/Hospitals management by refusing to implement government’s extant circulars in its fullest, amounts to complete sabotage of Government good intentions to the hard-working workforce.
PRAYER
It is, therefore, on these grounds that the
association prays that:
1 1. you
use your powers as the Minister for Health to compel the management of the
University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, and the University of
Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), Port Harcourt, to immediately implement
the Enhanced Entry Point Placement Circular (SGL-10) for Graduates of Bachelor
of Nursing Science (B.N.Sc.) degree in their institutions.
2. you
prevail on the Chief Medical Directors (CMDs) and Medical Directors (MDs) to
commence adjustment to CONHESS 09 of all B.N.Sc./B.Sc. Nursing degree holders
who are already in service (with or without internship) but are still below the
approved new grade of SGL10 (CONHESS 9) to immediately do so without delay.
3. you order the CMDs, and MDs of UNTH, Enugu; UPTH, Port Harcourt; Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido-Ekiti, Ekiti State and Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta, Ogun State to implement the enhanced entry placement for Nurses who acquired their bachelor of nursing degree through Direct Entry admission, WASP, or open and distance learning such as NOUN, and as a result, are not eligible to participate in the one-year Internship programme since they are already licensed by Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, and have a cognate experience that is above that affordable by internship training.
Please accept the
assurances of our esteemed regards.
Signed:
National
President National Secretary
