Nurses Demand Justice After Alleged Doctor’s Assault In Ogun

Nurses with Ogun State Hospital, Ijaye, Abeokuta on Thursday protested over the alleged assault of a final year student nurse by a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Nurudeen Adekunle.

The nurses who were joined by their colleagues in other parts of the state, demanded justice for the assaulted student.

Led by the state Chairman of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, Adejoke Bello, the protesting nurses marched with placards bearing different inscriptions such as “end bullying of nurses, bullying of nurses is not acceptable, respect for nurses, respect for care and justice for nurses a must, among others.

Adekunle, a staff with the hospital reportedly slapped the student nurse at the theatre on September 24.

The nurses are angry that all efforts made to seek redress from the government have yielded no encouraging result.

Speaking during the protest, the National Chairman of Nurses and Midwives, Adejoke Bello said the protest has become imperative because the act is against the public rule service.

“The peaceful demonstration is to register our dissatisfaction and displeasure over an unethical practice of a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon with Ogun State Hospital, Ijaye, Abeokuta, Nurudeen Adekunle who slapped a final year student nurse precisely on September 24.

“This is assault and it is against the public rule service, this should not have happened under whatever circumstances. It is gross misconduct for you to have slapped your subordinate at work. So we are here to say that the entire nurses in Ogun State won’t tolerate this.

“This ordinarily should not have degenerated to this level of protest but we have written to the appropriate quarters since last Monday and given them 48 hours to address this unfortunate incident but we have heard nothing from them, especially the management of this Hospital, they have not called us, so we are left with no choice than to mobilise for this peaceful protest,” Bello said.

Bello demanded that Nurudeen be brought to justice according to the public service rules.

“We have told our nurses to go back to work but we have given the management of the hospital four hours to get back to us in black and white just as we have equally done to register our dissatisfaction over the poor treatment,” Bello stated.

Also speaking, the Unit Chairman of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives State Hospital, Ijaye, Abeokuta, Comrade Lola Idowu Falujo also condemned the action of Dr Adekunle saying that it fell below the provisions of the public service rules.

“We wrote the management of the hospital and the government since Friday but we have heard nothing, if they have decided to get back to us there may not be the need for this peaceful protest.

“This is unacceptable and we are saying that bullying of nurses must stop. We therefore want the government to activate the state public service rules to handle this matter and ensure that justice is served,” she said.

Responding, the Permanent Secretary, Hospital Management Board, Dr Mrs Olayinka Elemide, noted that the government is aware of the situation and already taking steps to address the incident.

“The doctor and the student nurse are both in the care of the government, so we are on top of the situation,” he added.

Nurses Demand Justice After Alleged Doctor’s Assault In Ogun is first published on The Whistler Newspaper