Jelili Gbadamosi
The Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, has raised concerns over the growing migration of Nigerian nurses, warning that the loss of skilled professionals could further strain specialised psychiatric healthcare delivery in the country.
The concern was raised during the hospital’s 2026 Nurses’ Week celebration, organised by the Department of Nursing in collaboration with the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, FPH Yaba.
The event, themed “Our Nurses, Our Future: Empowered Nurses Save Lives,” focused on the need to improve nurses’ welfare, working conditions and professional development amid increasing demands on the healthcare system.
Speaking at the event, the chairman of the Local Organising Committee, Nurse Olawale Adegoke Taiwo, urged the government, non-governmental organisations and individuals to support measures aimed at retaining trained nurses in Nigeria.
Taiwo said better remuneration, improved working conditions and greater recognition of nurses were necessary to encourage professionals to remain in the country.
“We want our nurses here to be well-defined, to be able to work and have that dignity of labour,” he said.
The keynote speaker, Prof. Adeshina Badru, Dean of the Faculty of Nursing, University of Lagos, described nurses as the “heartbeat of the healthcare system,” noting that psychiatric nurses perform specialised duties that require adequate training, personnel and resources.
Badru said psychiatric nurses play important roles in suicide prevention, the management of acute psychosis and supporting patients and their families.
He therefore called for increased government investment in healthcare infrastructure, modern equipment, technology and manpower, warning that nurses could not provide effective therapeutic care in overcrowded or unsafe environments.
Also speaking, the Head of Nursing Services, Mrs Alonge Kehinde, called for greater investment in professional development and leadership opportunities for nurses, alongside improved working conditions.
She said empowering nurses would contribute to better patient safety and strengthen the country’s healthcare system.
The nurses maintained that addressing their welfare and working conditions should be treated as a priority, particularly in psychiatric facilities where patients require specialised and continuous care.
They stressed that retaining experienced psychiatric nurses would not only protect the future of the profession but also help ensure that patients continue to receive quality mental healthcare.
