Healthcare services at the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Barnawa, Kaduna State, have been severely disrupted as 128 psychiatric nurses commenced an indefinite strike over unresolved welfare and career progression concerns.

The nurses, operating under the umbrella of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), said the industrial action became inevitable after more than two years of what they described as neglect by hospital management.

Addressing journalists in Kaduna, the union’s unit Chairman, Comrade Enwereji Uchechukwu, said repeated attempts to engage management through formal correspondence yielded no results.

According to him, letters written last year seeking redress on pressing welfare and structural issues were neither acknowledged nor acted upon.

He alleged that upon follow-up, the union discovered that the letters were no longer traceable in official files, a development he said signaled a lack of commitment to resolving the grievances.

All 128 regular nurses in the hospital are participating in the strike, leaving wards critically understaffed.

Uchekukwu warned that the situation poses serious risks to safety of patients at the facility.

“In some wards, about 45 patients are being attended to by just one local nurse. That is unsafe. Both patients and staff are suffering,” he said, while emphasizing that the union remains open to dialogue if concrete steps are taken to address their demands.

At the heart of the dispute is the placement of newly recruited nurses on Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) 6 rather than the approved CONHESS 7, which the union insisted is the recognised entry level for nurses in federal health institutions.

“The Scheme of Service of the Federal Republic of Nigeria clearly places nurses on CONHESS 7 at entry level. What is happening here is inconsistent with what obtains in other federal establishments,” Uchekukwu stated.

The union also raised concerns about inconsistencies in professional nomenclature within the hospital.

While the national Scheme of Service harmonises nurses under the designation of “officers,” some nurses at the facility are reportedly still classified as superintendents.

Another major grievance is the alleged removal of the Principal Nursing Officer cadre (CONHESS 11) from the hospital’s promotion structure, a move the nurses argued would disrupt established career progression pathways.

“In the proper structure, you move from Nursing Officer to Senior Nursing Officer, then Principal Nursing Officer, Assistant Chief Nursing Officer and Chief Nursing Officer. Removing the Principal Nursing Officer cadre distorts that progression,” he explained.

Reacting to the strike, the hospital’s Head of Finance and Accounts, Mr. Lucky Abumere, acknowledged the disruption and described the development as worrisome.

He noted that the management had engaged the union prior to the strike and that some issues might have been resolved internally.

Abumere added that in the absence of a governing board, the matter had been escalated to the Federal Ministry of Health for intervention.

He expressed optimism that dialogue and the ministry’s involvement would help restore normal services.

Meanwhile, patients and their families continue to bear the brunt of the crisis as services at the Kaduna-based psychiatric facility remain strained pending a resolution. (Daily Trust)