Nurses warn of difficult summer in hospitals and worsen in September

The College of Nurses warns that the situation in hospitals with a shift of 35 hours work should worsen in September, saying that the government will not even hire half of the workers in the country. the health.

Almost a week later out of the 35 hours of work a week for thousands of health professionals, Ana Rita Cavaco predicts that difficulties in hospitals will continue throughout the summer and will not be easy. worsen in September

"Although the Minister of Health has" hired more in September, has already admitted that he could not hire the necessary professionals, "says staff, warning of difficulties in various health facilities, with beds closing.

Ana Rita Cavaco says that she does not know how many nurses the government allows who are hired to cover the 35 hours of work, but says that & # 039; 39, they will not even be half of those needed.

The representative of these professionals The Brazilian Minister of Health said that it would take at least 1,700 nurses to cover the 40 to 35 hours, warning that the servic They have long been short of nurses.

The Minister of Health announced that two thousand health professionals because of 35 hours of work, without specifying how many are nurses, how many are technicians, pharmacists or assistants.

"We do not understand. If 3,000 nurses cost 65 million a year, 0.6% of the total health budget, 1,700 would be about 30 to 35 million. How come there is not this money, what is so small? Because the Portuguese hear thousands and thousands of euros for the bank.

Ana Rita Cavaco gives examples of situations that she considers critical and that do not correspond to the minimum that patients must do. In the hospital of Covilhã there is a medical service with 30 beds and with only a nurse and his head who cares.

"Does anyone believe that it is possible to do the minimum for the people who are hospitalized? It's not. It's for playing with the health of everyone of us. "

Already Friday, the College of Nurses had realized that the Alfredo da Costa Maternity Hospital in Lisbon had to close three workrooms because of the lack of from the closure, Maternity had to reduce the number of team nurses, "which does not ensure the safety of the people".

The representative of the nurses report that every day is aware of "the closing of the beds and the closing of certain services", a result of which the professionals considered a lack of adequate planning with the passage to 35 working hours per week by thousands of health professionals on July 1st.

"Hiding what's going on will not solve the problem," says the nursing staff, referring to this week's statements by the health minister, who said the

Ana Rita Cavaco also states that in Chaves, Lamego and Vila Real "they close 48 beds", due to the strengthening of 60 nurses who are considered necessary only were allowed 32.

The staff recalls that the nurses who enter, in addition to To be insufficient, "do not count immediately as elements", since they must integrate into the team.

According to the Order of the Nurses of Gaia Hospital, for example, three new nurses arrived at the Urology Department today, but one of the nurses of the University of Gaia, team came for "not being able to work alone with 18 patients, as it happened."

and the political parties have criticized the Ministry of Health for the lack of timely planning with the passage of 40 to 35 hours of work a week since July 1,

According to the Minister of Health, about 2,000 professionals (nurses, technicians and administrative staff) will be hired this month to cover the shift to 35 hours. Adalberto Campos Fernandes also said that up to 1600 professionals have joined the National Health Service.

The minister reiterated that the government and hospitals plan "as never before" "But does not commit to recruiting additional professionals after the summer and says that it should not be there have financial leverage to hire the desired number of professionals.