Nurses in Barishal staged demonstration on Thursday to press home their eight-point demand including the formation of a National Nursing Commission.
They also observed a sit-in programme in the morning wearing black badges at 11am in front of the administrative building of Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital, protesting the inclusion of the independent Nursing and Midwifery Directorate under a different department.
Barishal district unit of the Bangladesh Nurses Association (BNA) organised the programme.
The protesters, including nurses and midwives, also brought out a procession on the hospital premises carrying banners, festoons and chanting various slogans.
Speakers at the sit-in said the nursing and midwifery sector is one of the most vital pillars of the country’s healthcare system yet it has long remained neglected.
They said the decision to abolish the independent nursing directorate is a major obstacle to professional dignity, skill development and desired progress.
Such a decision will not be accepted under any circumstances, they said.
BNA Barishal district president Ali Azgar, vice-president Md Shah Alam, general secretary Nure Alam Talukder, Treasurer Shamima Yasmin, Anwara Khanam and Hafiza Akhter were present there.
Nurses and midwives from Barishal Nursing College and Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital also expressed solidarity with the protesters.