Although these findings are slightly better than in the rest of Spain, working conditions in the Balearics do not provide a positive perception. Jorge Tera, the union's secretary in the Balearics, says that working conditions are poor and that staffing levels are insufficient. The consequence is a deterioration in the quality of care.
A comparison has been drawn with the situation in 2012. Tera explains that economic crisis added to stress levels and other symptoms and also affected care. More than 80% of nurses in the Balearics believe that their working conditions have worsened (this is compared with almost 90% nationwide). This has been because of health service cutbacks. A similar percentage consider that staffing levels are deficient, while 78% are of the opinion that the working environment has deteriorated in the past five years.
Tera wants there to be greater labour stability through new offers of jobs. There are some 3,500 nurses with regular positions but up to 1,500 who are temporary. Some of these have been working under "unstable" conditions for some fifteen years.
The union also wants a reduction in the working week to 35 from 37.5 hours, a special system of retirement and guarantees of more secure working environments. Tera adds: "We all know that there have been more assaults on health professionals and that there are greater occupational risks because of a lack of bio-security and the handling of dangerous drugs."
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Steve, I hope the two visits weren’t for the same cause. Good health.
My late wife was a nurse for the NHS over 20 years ago in England, with hands on approach, and she used to cry her eyes out after some shifts with the stress. She then trained as a Beauty Therapist, and continued to help out nursing in local hospitals when she could. She also used to work in a local hospice, and this hospice is where she sadly had her last days of life. A charity run hospice, She sometimes occasionally would press a call button every 15 minutes for help, and a nurse would be there al most straight away. She informed me that is what she would do for patients. When one sees behind the scenes, their wages are cheap to some occupations. As such a popular lady, after passing away in the hospice, a lot of staff including the CEO of the hospice gave a guard of honour for her, for all her hard work.
I spent 6 weeks last year being cared for superbly in Son Espaces hospital. The nursing staff were clearly very stretched on many occasions but their level of care was excellent. By comparison I had 3 weeks in an NHS hospital this year and there were many occasions when the staff were simply unable to cope with demand on their services. In the NHS if a patient pressed a call button you could wait 15 mins+ before they were able to respond - not laziness, just lack of staff. In Son Espaces there was an instant response to a call button via an intercom and if there was urgency then a member of nursing staff was with you very quickly. The levels of cleanliness in Son Espaces were immaculate: in my NHS hospital they were less good.
WHEN will the Nurses ( The Lifeblood of any Hospital ) be given a living wage, no, more than a living wage. To cope with all the stress and very tough and difficult working conditions. The emotional stress they incur, is becoming a major cause for concern throughout the world. Lack of Doctors and Nurses is reaching crisis levels everywhere. Having Security Bouncers to deal with the attacks on Hospital Staff, is now a Priority Urgent requirement.