During the last session of the regional council Paolo Ugolini (5 Star Movement) presented a question in which he asked the council what measures it will implement to avoid the depletion of nursing staff expected in the coming years in the Ligurian local health authorities. The councilor noted that in the last 3 years, 21 thousand nurses have resigned and that, according to the Nursing Up union, in Liguria there is a shortage of around 2 thousand nurses while in the coming years the shortage will be even more severe, for one of the most elderly people of Europe.
The health councilor Angelo Gratarola explained that, on the basis of some national legislative innovations, the local health authorities are evaluating the initiatives to be taken and added that, at a training level, the Region has identified 700 units of access to the nursing faculty for the 2023-24, which could guarantee the satisfaction of the professional figure in the medium and long term. Gratarola, however, noted that the number of students capable of obtaining a three-year degree is lower than the requirement and that the remaining need is currently met by professionals from other regions. Finally, the councilor recalled that San Martino is preparing the competition to recruit nurses for organizations and companies in the Genoa metropolitan area.
Ugolini (M5s): “2 thousand nurses are missing, the Region is fiddling”
Councilor Ugolini then commented in a note: “Nursing staff are essential for the smooth progress of the patient’s treatment process and for this reason they must be able to operate in a dignified working environment, with adequate workloads and respectful of recovery times. rest. It’s a shame that in Liguria, as reported by the Opi and Nursind Up, serious inefficiencies have been detected in nursing recruitment, which should have been strengthened as early as April 2020. Is the Region aware of the data disclosed by the trade unions? Questioned to find out which urgent measures the Authority intends to implement to deal with the emergency, the competent councilor did not respond, limiting himself to a list of measures that have nothing to do with the critical issues exposed”.
“Let’s try again – stated Ugolini -: in Liguria there are 2,000 nurses missing and the Region is aware of this. It will therefore be agreed that this is a serious shortage which has a very serious impact on the quality of care provided to hospitalized patients. ‘Few nurses’ means ‘little time to dedicate to each patient’, with obvious consequences also on safety: it goes without saying, in fact, that a nurse subjected to an excessive load of tasks and shifts can make errors. It is also serious that 800 social and healthcare workers continue to be missing : where these very important figures are not guaranteed by the regional health service, nurses are called in to fill in, and are therefore forced to be demoted. Then let’s not be surprised if those few nurses left in our hospitals choose to leave Liguria to go where they pay them better and are guaranteed their more sustainable rhythms”.
Councilor Gratarola: “Liguria third in Italy for the number of nurses”
Councilor Gratarola, in turn, issued a note with some data. “With 6.65 nurses per thousand inhabitants, Liguria is the third Italian region in terms of number of care professionals employed in the healthcare system – he stated -. The data, recently certified by a report released by the Gimbe Foundation, certifies that the hiring plan has been carried out in recent years, taking into consideration the needs of hospitals and local health authorities in Liguria”.
“We are aware – said councilor Angelo Gratarola – that the needs and requirements are growing. And in fact the Policlinico San Martino is planning to announce a competition for nurses for staff destined for the Genoa metropolitan area. In anticipation of this, a process has been started that can allow the hiring of nurses in Local Health Authority 3 and in the Genoese hospitals, using the ranking of the regional competition still available for the territory of Local Health Authorities 4 and 5. Guaranteeing the needs of the eastern territory, companies and hospitals in the ASL 3 area will therefore be able to draw on that ranking. waiting for the competition for stable hiring which will be defined in the coming months”.
“The hourly rate of 50 euros per hour for the additional services of nurses and radiology technicians was also recently agreed – stated the Health Councilor -, in line with the provisions of national legislation which allows the hours of staff needed in the health facilities of our region. Furthermore, it is not true that the recruitment of nurses has stopped since 2020. As already highlighted, the regional competition for nurses was announced in September 2022, whose rankings are running out, and which led to the recruitment of over 1,200 nurses throughout the region. Added to these are the nurses recruited through the 2023 competition dedicated to the local health authorities of western Liguria, whose rankings are currently being scrolled. Genoa metropolitan area, a further tender will be announced in the autumn”.
“With regards to programming – concluded the councilor – it should be underlined that as part of the annual survey of training needs for health professions, Liguria has identified 700 units of admissions to the faculty of nursing for the academic year 2023/ 24, assessing that the number can guarantee the needs, possibly implementable with professionals from other regions”.
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