âJust clapping doesnât solve anythingâ
Despite the fact that Catarina Martins – the leader of the Left Bloc (BE) â regards the National Health Service (SNS) âa pearl of democracyâ and its workers âheroes and heroinesâ, working conditions are poor and staff shortages in public health threatening.
After having reviewed the shortage of doctors in the SNS, letâs now take a look at the field of nursing.
When Portugal froze nursesâ career progression and salaries during the financial crisis some ten years ago, thousands went abroad in seek of greener pastures. There are currently 20.000 Portuguese nurses working elsewhere – mainly in the UK, France, Spain, and Germany – where salaries are easily 3 times higher.
In Portugal, the ratio of nurses/inhabitants is low (6.9/1000), compared to EU countries (9.3/1000). The Independent Union of Nurses recently highlighted the lack of appreciation of the nurses by the Government, leading to another 1300 professionals leaving the country during the Covid19 pandemic.
According to the Nurses Association (OE), there are approximately 45.500 nurses working in the SNS.
âA general nurse earns 1200 euros per month at the start of her career and will only be evaluated for upgrading every ten yearsâ, says Guadalupe SimĂ”es, head of the Portuguese Nursing Syndicate. âAfter tax, some take home as little as 980 euros, just 315 above the minimum wage. Many have two jobs to make ends meet. Even those who have worked a lifetime can only hope to reach a salary of 1800 euros at the end of 40 yearsâ.
The OE foresees further mass emigrations of nurses after an exhausting and unrewarded fight against the pandemic. âThe Government must adopt policies to keep nurses in the country and that is impossible with low wagesâ, the outspoken president of the Association â Ana Rita Cavaco â declared. To back their demands a general strike will be called on November 3rd and 4th.
In order to recover the level of primary care damaged by the epidemic and in view of the EU Recovery Plan â aiming to rebuild a more resilient post-Covid19 Europe â the OE proposes the assignment of a family nurse to each family/patient.
âThere are currently 3000 nurses involved in the coronavirus vaccination campaign, which could be considered for this purpose. Family nurses can play a decisive role in the recovery and consolidation of people with chronic illnesses and dependents at home, who are now in a situation of greater vulnerability.’
Enjoy your weekend Bom fim de semana (pic PĂșblico/Sapo)
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