by crossriverwatch admin
The Cross River State government is battling to reinstate accreditation for its three schools of nursing which had their accreditation declared null and void by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria for low quality facilities and poor standard.
The schools which had their accreditation declared null and void by the Nursing and Midwifery Council in February 2013 have in their enrollment over one thousand students and recently admitted new students.
Worried by the decision of the apex nursing body to withdrew the accreditation for the schools located in Calabar, Itigidi and Ogoja, Professor Angela Oyo Ita, the state Commissioner for Health has been meeting with officials of the council to seeks ways to restore the accreditation.
In a meeting held in her office recently with officials of the state and South South chapters of the council, Prof. Oyo-Ita stated that the loss of accreditation of schools of Nursing in the state was painful and embarrassing and “Though embarrassing and disheartening, we are using this as an opportunity to strengthen our facilities to ensure adequate nursing training for our students so that nurses sent out of these schools are able to deliver the same services as their counterparts from other schools”.
Prof. Oyo-Ita said the state had looked into the recommendations of the Council and was working hard to fulfill the demands of the Council to ensure that all the schools regain accreditation”.
According to the Commissioner, the meeting would go a long way to ensure that accreditation was restored so that the fate of the over one thousand students in the schools would not hang in the balance. “The Nursing and Midwifery Council should also ensure that the same standard used in assessing the quality of training facilities in public schools of nursing is also used in assessing private schools to ensure quality services, not just in the public sector, but also in the private sector in order to have a comprehensive nursing care not just in the state but across the country”.
The South South Zonal Officer, Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria said the Council would restore the accreditation once the facilities and standards required are put in place in the schools.
Acting Director of Nursing Services in the State, Mrs. Christy Essien expressed delight at the meeting, which she said would impact positively on the health and well being of nursing and midwifery education the state.
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