By Atoyebi Nike
Medical activities were brought to a halt in both federal and state hospitals across Kwara State on Wednesday following full compliance with a seven-day warning strike declared by the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM).
Nurses at major facilities including the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), Sobi Specialist Hospital, and General Hospital Ilorin, among others, all joined the industrial action.
As a result, patients on admission were seen being taken out by their relatives for treatment at private hospitals or returned home.
“The patients are being moved out of the hospital by their relatives since the nurses who will administer injections and drugs on the patients have embarked on a strike,” a senior hospital staff told our correspondent.
Another official at a General Hospital, who requested anonymity, confirmed that nurses had no choice but to comply with the national directive from their association.
The strike has left public hospitals struggling to cope as essential nursing services remain suspended pending further directives from the union’s leadership.
