“Without nurses there is no health, and without health there is no future”

More of 8,000 nurses formed in Spain They left their city, even their country, because of the job instability that the sector experiences and the poor working conditions. According to the report of the OECD, Spain is not the best placed compared to other nearby countries, “in Europe our ratio occupies 14th place out of 19 countries.” Although they were 6,646 nurses who left their city to move to other provinces or autonomous communities within Spain, there was a total of 1,473 who left the country.

This is how he explains it Florentino Pérez Rayapresident of the General Nursing Council (CGE), “the main reason for this high mobility is none other than the job insecurity experienced by the sector and within it the temporality and the bad working conditions. Far from the 8% set as the objective by the Government, the temporary employment rate among nurses does not fall below 30% and despite the stabilization OPEs, it continues to be a burden,” Raya clarifies.

It is detected that approximately 10,500 graduates leave every year, but with nearly 1,500 nurses leaving, they are losing a 15% professionals. Due to the present labor instability, temporary contracts of days, even hours, and the shortage of professionals, are the factors described that affect the professional life and nursing staff“30% of nurses have temporary contracts in our country,” he emphasizes Diego AyusoSecretary General of the CGE.

In Spain “the ratio is 6.13 nurses per 1,000 inhabitants,” which creates cracks between communities. This is why there are many nurses who choose to go out in search of better working conditions and better professional development possibilities in other places. “Giving up a contract, which is sometimes offered overnight, is a penalty that takes them directly to the bottom of the job market. How can they not look for another place, whether outside their province or in another country?” asks the president.

The data indicate that there is a high mobility within the national territory since a total of 6,464 professionals have discharged in their provincial schools with the aim of going to work elsewhere. “The communities where the most casualties have been received due to transfer are IBalearic Islands, Castilla y León, Melilla and Ceuta“, according to the Spanish Institute of Nursing Research. This is why society and “political decision-makers” are made aware of the great contribution that Spanish nurses make, and on the occasion of the International Nurses Daywhich will be celebrated next Sunday, May 12, the visibility campaignunder the motto ““Ask your nurse.”

But, which are the most visited countries?

It is estimated that only in the 20231,743 nurses processed the necessary documentation to practice their profession out of the country. The United Kingdom (92) used to be the first country due to the economic factor it offered, however, after Brexit, many of the nurses opted for other countries such as Norway (336), USA (226) and Ireland (60). Immigration to these countries is not only due to the good salary, but “to the working conditions offered and the opportunity to develop your professional careermuch better conditions than in Spain,” highlights Jose Luis CobosVice President III of the CGE.

Likewise, he emphasizes that “the Spanish nurses They are highly sought after in the most developed countries of the world. Our training and international prestige make them very valuable to any healthcare system. But this is causing us to lose highly prepared human capital. We invest in training highly qualified professionals who end up going to other countries in search of better conditions, with which all the investment in training that has been made is lost. And in exchange we are incorporating nurses from Latin America into our health system. In 2021, the latest data available, the title was approved for 305 non-EU nurses,” explains Cobos.

National mobilization

However, many nurses choose to move within National territory in search of better job stability that allows them to be close to family or friends. As mentioned, there are 6,646 professionals who left due to transfer to another province. Diego Ayuso explains that “nursing is a profession where unemployment is currently practically zero. The way to attract nurses is for them to move from another place, hence there is high mobility within the National territory“.

Among the communities that show a higher concentration of nurses, this Navarre (8.93) and Basque Country (7.99). On the other hand, and the one that has the least is Murcia (4.74). Given these figures, Diego Ayuso emphasizes that “it is no coincidence that the region that has the most nurses is also the one that best conditions offered to their professionals. But it not only affects the salary, if you work in a service with 10 other colleagues, your care burden is not the same as if you work with half as many. The overload, the stress of not having enough staff also takes its toll, if you see that you cannot care for your patients as they deserve, that is also relevant when choosing to change address.”

In Europethe average number of nurses for each 1,000 inhabitants is 8.73Meanwhile in Spain is 6.3. It is clear that seeking better working conditions, better contracts, of longer duration, in areas with a greater number of professionals or even applying for a public job offer on the other side of the country are the option for thousands of nurses.

Visibility campaign

Rachel Rodriguezvice president I of the CGE, emphasizes that “the nurses are references health in our country. We want citizens to know that, in all areas, there is a nurse to consult with any problem. We are the health professionals closest to society and we are always there, available every hour and every day of the year. That is why we launch this Campaignto remind you that the best solution to ensure health, streamline health care and achieve more effective prevention is to trust the professionals who care for us throughout life: the nurses.”

The bell: Ask your nurse, will have a presence on radio and television in the national, regional and digital press, buses, bus shelters, shopping centers, on TV platforms (Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube…), social networks and in all Spanish provinces. “Without nurses there is no health, and without health there is no future”, this is how the General Nursing Council emphasized in the presentation of the data recorded in recent years.