This thing here where a group of friends go to a serviced apartment for a day or two, cook together or buy food and drinks in bulk, play decent, funny, and interesting games, and then do PowerPoint presentations like this where they rigorously and vigorously discuss topics that may look so inconsequential, but merely looking at those topics, you already know how interesting and necessary they are, especially in our time, I find it fascinating.
Adulthood takes so much from us, especially time. So whenever I see people bonding with their friends in this manner, I find it so cute, and I can’t wait to do it with my own friends.
And oh! Thank God this trend has slowly eradicated the era where house parties or sleepovers were mostly Truth or Dare. Thank goodness we outgrew that phase.
If CHEWs are being used to fill nursing positions in Ondo State hospitals, this is bigger than nurses losing jobs.
We need to start talking about patient safety.
Different professions have different training, competencies and scope.
Na the patient go pay the price. Imagine CHEW managing a patient in a critical care unit where specialized nursing knowledge is required.
Healthcare is not where we should cut corners.
Let it be known that we’ve played our part. We’ve raised the alarm, we’ve spoken up, and Nigerians can see and hear.
So we won’t be hearing “Where were you when this whole thing started?” We were here.
We saw it, we spoke about it, and we raised the alarm. It now remains for those in positions of power to take action and do the right thing, not put their pockets first or try to cut costs at the expense of human lives.
Nigerians deserve better, and the health and safety of the people should be prioritized above all.
First, Yaba College of Technology listed Nursing Auxiliary Certificate among the requirements for a Nursing Assistant position.
Now, it’s Ondo State backing CHEWs for nursing roles.
Meanwhile, qualified nurses in Ondo State are actively looking for jobs.
So what exactly are we telling the nurses who spent years in nursing school, only to graduate and still struggle to find jobs?
Something deeply disturbing is happening in Ondo state hospitals. The Heads of Nursing Services (HNS) are deliberately hiring CHEWs, yes, community health workers to work in wards as nurses, because they can’t afford proper nurses. But this is illegal. CHEWs are meant for community care, not major hospitals. Yet, they’re being deployed everywhere, even in operating theatres. This isn’t just one hospital, it’s happening in multiple state-run facilities. When the NANNM chairman spoke out, instead of correcting this blatant abuse, some HNS actually went further and filed petitions against the nurses’ union. And to make matters worse, some female nurses married to CHEWs betrayed the union by leaking plans. Now, politicians are stepping in, not to protect standards, but to push a cost-cutting agenda. This is a disgrace on the nursing profession.
Shame on everyone involved.