The Branch Council of Nurses and other Hospital Staff of the Equality Union, in a letter to the State Health Services Organization (OKYPY), speaks of an immediate and urgent need to recruit additional nursing staff.
As stated, the Covid-19 pandemic contributed to the further deterioration of the physical and mental condition of the already exhausted nursing staff.
“In order to have the optimal safe and desirable level of care for patients it is necessary to have the appropriate number of trained and experienced nurses in each department. In general, understaffing and double-shift work in nursing units and clinics results in nurses' burnout, not having enough time for optimal patient care and nurses' lack of professional satisfaction,” it states.
It is noted that the understaffing concerns mainly clinics of the Nicosia General Hospital such as intensive care units but also in clinics at the Archbishop Makarios III Hospital.
As reported, at the Archbishop Makarios III Hospital there is understaffing in several nursing clinics in many shifts with exhausted staff with more children in the clinics than the specified number of beds in each clinic. The Branch Council of Nurses questions whether the bed ratio of one Nurse per newborn/child is respected and whether the security number of Nursing staff in shifts is respected. He notes that an exhausted Nurse with 12 hours of continuous work where many times he doesn't even have time to take a break, becomes more prone to mistakes. the safety of the Patients and the Nursing staff since over the years the needs have increased much more”, they report.
“Also if there are clinics where there is no ratio of active Nurses per patient it would be wise to do so the necessary arrangements and also in the clinics where there is a security number of Nursing staff and a ratio of Nurses per Patient, this ratio should be observed”, they add.
They note that the recruitment of Nursing staff is necessary and imperative, since the existing Nursing staff he has made enormous mental reserves to carry out the function he performs, but he is at his limits.