The forum in a statement said the incident occurred during immunisation at the PHC, and that the deaths were linked to a wrongful injection administered at the facility.
The Elegant Nurses Forum (ENF) has called for an investigation into the death of twin babies following a wrongful injection during immunisation at Ajangbadi Primary Health Care (PHC) in Lagos State.
The forum in a statement said the incident occurred during immunisation at the PHC, and that the deaths were linked to a wrongful injection administered at the facility.
The ENF clarified that the injection was administered by a Community Health Extension Worker (CHEW) and not by a nurse, saying the clarification is important for public understanding.
The group said it had raised concerns earlier about professional standards and regulation in the state’s primary healthcare system.
“It is important to state that the National Coordinator of the Elegant Nurses Forum raised a clear alarm months ago, warning the Lagos State Government of an impending disaster due to poor regulation, negligence, and the failure of the Lagos State Primary Health Care Board (LSPHCB) to enforce professional standards.”
The ENF said it has consistently called for clear boundaries and strict adherence to the scope of practice in healthcare delivery.
“For years, the Elegant Nurses Forum has consistently advocated for clear boundaries and strict adherence to scope of practice in healthcare delivery.”
The forum also stated that nurses are trained professionals with the skills needed to manage patients safely at all levels of healthcare.
“Nurses are irreplaceable. Patient safety cannot be compromised, and healthcare must never be reduced to cost-cutting at the expense of human lives.”
The ENF described CHEWs as being trained mainly for community-level duties such as health education, mobilisation, contact tracing and basic support services.
The group said it has observed that some CHEWs are taking on roles they were not trained or licensed to perform.
The ENF added that successive governments have appointed CHEWs to head PHCs and replaced nurses with them.