The nursing department denounces that “what was a one-time problem over the summer has become a regular year-round problem” and warns that the situation “will get worse in the coming years” due to retirements.
SATSE Euskadic has asked the Basque government to increase the number of nurses as an “urgent measure” to “stop” the decline” of primary care and has warned that the lack of staff is “a a common problem all year round
In a statement, SATSE Euskadi proposes to “give prestige to the area by increasing the number of nurses and giving them more responsibility, provided these new skills are developed while ensuring legal certainty and appropriate recognition.”
The union, which has for years denounced the “deplorable situation” in which primary care finds itself, has said that what used to be it was a problem “on time in summerhas been extended to Christmas and Easter so that the centers do not operate their usual hours for at least four months of the year”.
At the moment, Amaia Mayor, spokesman for the union, has denounced: “It is common that not all staff work in health centers and when professionals are missing, they are not replaced“The nursing union warns about this situation year after year, but from Osakidetza they continue without adopting solutions,” he censored.
“Structural problem that will get worse”
In that sense, he has maintained that “the lack of primary care professionals is something that goes back a long way, it is a structural problem that started long before the pandemic” and, as he warned, “if measures are not taken, the situation will deteriorate in the coming years as 1,089 primary care professionals retire by 2027”.
Along the same lines, he has denounced that “this has led to the taking of ‘organizational measures’ that have not been negotiated, because they say it is an area that corresponds to the administration.” However, he recalled that at the request of SATSE, they face a penalty for violation of the fundamental right to collective bargaining.
To deal with this situation, he recalls, Osakidetza has decided to bring together professionals, midwives, general practitioners and pediatricians at the heads of the UAP (Primary Care Units) “so that professionals as well as citizens travel to other locations”.
However, she lamented: “both the health minister and Osakidetza praise the role of nurses in primary care as a ‘core group’, which they should adopt. new skills and responsibilities with the same number of professionalswhich translates into overload without any acknowledgment”.
“More pressure, stress and abandonment”
This affects the nursing group in the first person, both nurses and midwives, he noted, adding that nurses “are experiencing more and more pressure in their jobs, improvised measures are taken without the right information, constantly conditioning their breaks, vacations and the combination of work and family life”.
“It is a situation that is maintained over time and that affects the group psychologically, leading to stress, burnout and leaving the field, as has happened with medical professionals,” warned Amaia Mayor.
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Source: EITB
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
