Never Done - Nurses in German Hospitals
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Dates2018 - Ongoing
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Author
- Location Hanover, Germany
Since 1991, the situation for nurses in German hospitals has continually grown worse due to political and economic reasons. Privatization of hospitals is ongoing, and because of a change in the accounting settlement system the financial pressure on hospitals is high.
As a consequence, shifts are understaffed and the pressure on the remaining nurses is enormous. As good nursing takes time and expertise, many nurses feel they cannot meet their standards when looking after their patients, leading to physical and mental exhaustion. Often times, nurses are called back to work when on holiday, or they have to work alternating shifts in a row. Going on strike as a unity is hard, as the first people who suffer are the patients. However, the public community doesn't value their work, personally or financially, as it touches on our weakness as people, which we don't want to be reminded of in everyday life. Especially young nurses don’t remain in their profession, making it even harder to solve the problem for the future generation.