UK-based association trains 200 nurses, engages more workers on virtual training

Mon, Jun 29, 2020
By publisher
3 MIN READ

Health

A non-profit making organisation, Nigerian Nurses Charitable Association-United Kingdom (NNCA-UK), says it has built the capacity of no fewer than 200 nurses on international best practices.

The President of the association, Ms Wendy Olayiwola-Odutola disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

She said that the training was to empower the health workers with relevant skills and expose them to international standards in nursing practice.

According to her, the training is part of the activities lined up for the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has designated 2020 as the Year of the Nurse and Midwife in honour of the 200 birth anniversary of the progenitor of the modern-day nursing/midwifery profession, Florence Nightingale.

The Year of the Nurse designation by WHO highlights the push to increase the global nursing workforce.

“It is to support nurses, being the largest profession in the health care, obviously in Nigeria as well.

“It is to support them to turn the profession around as well as the patient experience.

“When you have a nurse that is full of knowledge, that is competent, that is confidence, then you will have a better patient outcome.

“If you are competent, confidence and knowledgeable within the nursing profession, they will be able to run with the Universal Health Coverage,’’ Olayiwola-Odutola said.

Similarly, Mr Peters Omoragbon, the Director for International Liaison of NNCA-UK, said the association had in January 29 organised training in Abuja for the health workers.

“We were in Nigeria to flag off the campaign of the 2020 Year of the Nurse and Midwife to mark the 200 year of progenitor of nursing profession.

“The present nursing today is 200 years old. The celebration places value that nurses and midwives play in the health care delivery in every country.

“They constitute the largest professional group within health care institution,  we constitute about 75 per cent of every workforce, in every hospital all over the world.

“We are probably the largest professional group in any sector. You can imagine taken away 75 per cent of workforce from any institution.’’

He, however, told NAN that the association would have loved to train more nurses and midwives physically but was hindered because of COVID-19 pandemic.

“We had scheduled our international scientific training for July in Lagos to commemorate The Year of the Nurse and The Midwife, we have postponed it indefinitely.’’

Omoragbon said that the association would continue its virtual engagement with all nurses and midwives in Nigeria with educational and informative programmes.

“We will continue to engage them through webinars and social media on fighting the COVID-19 to celebrate and support our colleagues with skills and knowledge transfer.

“NNCA-UK with the Nigerian Nurses/Midwives in Diaspora as Global Stakeholders held the inaugural Webinar in May and registered over 800 participants.

“We registered over 800 participants at the Webinar and 183 live participants with officials of the Federal Ministry of Health.

“We also had participants of officials of the Nigerian Diaspora Commission, WHO, Lagos State Government with the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria and more than 25 countries in attendance. This will continue on a regular basis,’’ he said.

NAN reports that Nurses Charitable Association-UK was incorporated in January 1998 in the UK. The association represents about 5,000 Nigerian Nurses and Midwives with established chapters nationwide.

The mission of the association is to provide a forum for collective action by Nigerian nurses to investigate, define, and determine issues affecting its members. (NAN)

– Jun. 29, 2020 @ 13:25 GMT |

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