The Hospitals of the Algarve group has 238 fewer nurses than it should have, the shortfall of nursing staff across all the region’s hospitals, clinics and outposts exceeds 350.
The situation was made clear today by the Union of Portuguese Nurses which considers "the safety and quality" of the National Health Service in jeopardy.
"The quality and safety of nursing care in many locations is questionable. This is due to Government measures, people have to be aware of this” according to the President of the union, José Carlos Martins, speaking at a press conference held in Faro.
The media briefing aimed to focus on a survey of the current needs of the Hospitals of the Algarve group and is based on official government reports. The shortage of nurses in the three Algarve hospitals is not unique, but is among the most serious in the country, according to Martins.
The shortage leads to an “increased risk of hospital infections and errors” due to overtime, combined with more responsibilities taken on by each nurse. This shortfall is causing, "a wave of discontent and demotivation among professionals which in turn has led to many leaving for the private sector, leaving to work overseas, or even abandoning the profession entirely."
According to management a further 45 new nurses will be hired in the public health sector in the Algarve, a number that the union considers insufficient and serves “only to compensate for those leaving."
The union demands that the situation is corrected and that nurses are hired in sufficient numbers to make up the shortfall, questioning why so many are leaving when the local need is so acute.
Nursing union representatives already have met with the new Regional Health Administration of the Algarve and reported that it would be doing an “assessment of needs” but added that the problem is that each administration, when it comes in says it will do a survey, but it never solves the underlying problem.
Besides the lack of human resources, nurses have reported shortages of equipment and materials, a situation denied by Dr Pedro Nunes, the man in charge of the Algarve’s Central hospitals.
There is a lack of 'bandages, needles, syringes, dressings and adhesives, and other material that is needed every day" according to the results of a hospital tour this week.
