Ill nurses
"Sisters and caregivers are expected to relieve clinicians of more tasks in the future. This should save money. "This could be read this week in the Süddeutsche Zeitung on a current proposal of the German Hospital Association (DKG).
Great idea, probably all think, who have even a quiet idea of everyday life in our hospitals. After all, women are already ruining their body and soul in one of the most stressful professions there is today. Shift work, time pressure, constant lifting and carrying, health risks, the constant confrontation with human suffering - no wonder that more and more nurses suffer from chronic back pain, burnout and psychosomatic disorders. No wonder that on average they only last four and a half years in this job.
All this has gotten worse in recent years. The privatization of many public hospitals led to a massive job cuts and with it even more hunts in the daily work - and the constant feeling, the needs of the patients do not do justice.
Not to mention the fear for the workplace: Recently, for example, the renowned Hamburg Endo Clinic announced the plan to dismiss trained nurses and to replace them with cheap helpers. At the same time, the clinic is building a new, larger building with 38 million euros in tax credits.
In the face of such events, it sounds like pure cynicism, when the DKG President Rudolf Kösters explains: "The hospitals must think more about the efficient use of the staff." The background: After the doctors have - quite rightly - managed to enforce higher wages for themselves, now the cheaper nurses to help save expensive medical jobs.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde author Irene Stratenwerth
Of course, it is not a bad idea to consider whether nurses could also take blood, put on infusion needles or administer analgesics, or maybe even have a conversation with patients. Some things might even be in better hands with the sisters, who have much more contact with the sick. Most patients, according to a recent Scottish study, also think it would be okay to take care of minor ailments not a doctor, but medical nurses. In the end, all sides could benefit from it.
But the nurses need one thing above all else: more time. And it costs money in our healthcare system. Where does that come from and where you can reduce costs more meaningful, you have to talk about it. But Anyone who just wants to save on care, not only endangers the women (and men) who do this jobbut all who will depend on their help.
