Schillaci: "Nurse shortage is not just an economic issue but also a matter of attractiveness"

On the first nursing professions report, 'with Fnopi measures underway to reform specialist pathways'

"The issue of the shortage of nurses", "we know it well, is not just a problem of economic remuneration. We need to provide paths that make career prospects possible and easy to restore attractiveness to the profession. In this direction, this Government has adopted a series of interventions for the economic valorization of nurses: measures on the freelance profession for those who work in the public service, compensation for those employed in emergencies and tax relief on overtime, to name a few. And also together with Fnopi", National Federation of Nursing Orders and Professions, "we have discussed the measures that are 'in progress' to reform the specialist paths". Thus the Minister of Health, Orazio Schillaci, in his message sent today to Rome at the presentation event of the first Report on Nursing Professions' which "can really be an orientation tool for the institutions" and which, he assures, "we will treasure".

In greeting the participants and thanking them for the invitation, the minister, referring to International Nurses Day, which is celebrated today, explains that this anniversary "draws attention to the importance that your category can give in strengthening health systems and national economies", especially "in a long-lived society like ours that has health needs that increasingly require nursing care". Schillaci then underlined the Government's commitment to bringing young people back to choosing this course of study, also and above all by investing in motivation. "As emerges from your study - he observes - there is a growing interest in master's degrees; our young people want to broaden their knowledge and have legitimate ambitions for growth. We are listening to these requests and we want to provide answers also because we care not only about adequate training, but also about retaining our human capital in Italy".

Furthermore, "from your report - adds the minister - it emerges that the majority of those interviewed indicated a preference for working in public health, showing that they have confidence in our National Health Service. A preference that today takes on an even more fundamental meaning, considering the role that nurses are called to play in community hospitals and as links between hospital and territory".

'In the process of NHS reform they have a crucial role that must be supported and valued'

"With the progressive aging of the population and the exponential incidence of chronic diseases - continues Schillaci - the demand for health has profoundly changed. And with it, the model of health provision must change, in order to adequately intercept the new health needs and to safeguard the sustainability of our National Health Service".

Looking to the future, "the challenge we face goes well beyond the ability to treat and provide care - the minister clarifies - It requires investments in primary, secondary and tertiary prevention. It requires us to push towards the integration of hospital and territory and towards an approach that today can only be multidisciplinary and multisectoral. In this reform process, the family and community nurse can play a crucial role, in a team with other figures, which must be supported and valued - he concludes - in the interest of patients and to safeguard our public health".