Workers in Ondo State are raising alarms over what they call “role misalignment” in secondary hospitals, after the state government deployed Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWs) to duties traditionally handled by licensed nurses.
The Elegant Nurses Forum says the move puts both staff and patients at risk by blurring professional lines in facilities already dealing with manpower shortages.
The group stressed that it is not against CHEWs, but against putting any cadre outside its legal scope.
“CHEWs and other community health workers have important functions within primary and community healthcare systems,” the statement said.
“However, the issue is not CHEWs. The issue is the inappropriate deployment of one cadre into the professional role of another.
“A CHEW is not a nurse. A CHEW should not be presented to the public as a nurse. A CHEW should not be appointed to a nursing position, and a CHEW should not be expected to provide nursing care beyond the education, competence, regulation and scope attached to that cadre.”
According to the ENF, nursing is governed by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, which sets education, licensing and practice standards.
The forum argued that asking CHEWs to fill nurse vacancies undermines worker professionalism, patient safety and proper workforce planning.
ENF is calling on the Ondo government to hire and post more registered nurses instead, and to keep each health worker within the role they were trained and licensed for.
