The recent incorporation of the National School of Nursing into the College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences has not gone down well with the Sierra Leone Association of Nurses (SLAN). Speaking at the ‘Leh di people talk’ programme organised by the Premier Media and Campaign for Good Governance at the Stop Press Restaurant, at George Street, the president of SLAN, Mrs. Patricia Abu expressed her association’s dismay over the incorporation.

"It is wrong for the school to be incorporated into a college", she said. She explained that sometime back, her association had meetings with professors of COMAHS and the Ministers of Health and Education respectively, in which they agreed on affiliation and not incorporation.

"We are not against being part of the university system but we want to go in accordance with what was agreed upon and not what the ministry thinks should be done", she asserted.

Mrs. Abu further disclosed that 70% of nurses in government hospitals are volunteers and are not on salary. "This is the reason why most trained and qualified nurses seek greener pastures after graduation", she said, making specific reference to the recent Iraq employment programme in which nurses, according form bulk of the beneficiaries of the programme.

She also spoke of the lack of basic facilities in government hospitals.

"There are no sufficient beds and bedding materials. Patients have to come along with their pillows", she said, adding that for the past four years, government registered nurses(SRN) have not received salaries and that they to live on the income from the drugs they sell.

She re-echoed the point that they’re not against being part of the university system but that "what has been agreed upon has been agreed upon and that is affiliation not incorporation".

Responding, the Deputy Minister of Health and Sanitations, Ibrahim Sesay said the issue of incorporation came when the government thought it fit to bring the two institutions together as they perform the same functions. He said that he is surprised to see the nurses reacting to the incorporation act even when the principal of Nursing School, Sahr James was present in all meetings in which the idea came up. He assured the school of government’s support.

"Government has agreed to provide nursing students with free lodging, lunch, tuition fees and an allowance at the end of every month if they agree to be incorporated", the minister assured. He maintained, "This is because they are going to be trained to serve the government in turn", he said. He added that because of the inavailability of adequate funding, government can not afford to absorb both nurses and doctors in two separate entities.