ANKARA - Making a statement on the occasion of May 12, Nurses Day, SES made demands on the creation of safe working atmospheres for nurses.

 

The Central Executive Board of the Trade Union of Employees in Public Health and Social Services (SES) issued a written statement on the occasion of May 12, Nurses Day. In the statement titled “SES is our power! Enough, we will not be silent anymore, we will not be afraid!", it was emphasized that nursing is an applied health discipline that includes science and art, and succeeded in renewing itself with social, cultural and technological changes from past to present.

 

‘The need for nurses has deepened’

 

In the statement, which drew attention to the problems experienced during the pandemic process, "The 2020 World Nursing Situation Report, which was created with data from 191 countries, including our country, and published on April 6, 2020, emphasized the necessity of empowering nurses to make them more effective in achieving the health goals of the 21st century. Despite this emphasis, an important step has not yet been taken, neither in the world nor in our country. The need for a nurse has deepened in the Covid-19 pandemic, in our country. Because of the inadequacy of health policies, nurses have been accustomed to working with an insufficient number of workloads increasing day by day and they have been convinced that this situation cannot be solved, and it is normal."

 

‘One nurse does the job of four nurses’

 

In the statement, which stated that there are approximately 200,000 nurses in Turkey, it was emphasized that the number of nurses per 100,000 population is 306. In the statement, which pointed out that Turkey is behind many countries with this number, mentioned: "In our country where the health service capacity is higher than the mentioned countries, we do the work of four nurses with one nurse, and we have to make an extra effort to solve the problems that occur as a result. Talking about the problems of the nursing profession and producing solutions is limited to May 12, and the promises made are not resolved, and the new May 12 is wanted to be celebrated with the problems that increase in the next year."

 

In the statement, the demands were listed as follows:

 

"* Hundreds of thousands of nurses waiting for appointment should be employed as permanent staff to close the labor force gap and reduce our workload,

 

* Due to the insufficiency of the number of nurses and the deepening of this problem in the pandemic, the experienced nurses you expelled with Statutory Decrees should be returned to their jobs,

 

* The work of nurses with chronic diseases, pregnant women and disabled people should be considered as administrative leave without being subject to the permission of administrative committees, whose origin is unknown,

 

* Considering the working conditions within the scope of childcare and parental rights, 24-hour, qualified, free-of-charge kindergartens that provide education and care services in their mother tongue should be opened. Kindergartens should be arranged to include the 0-3 age group,

 

* 3600 additional indicators should be given to all healthcare professionals, especially midwives and nurses,

 

* The performance practice, which deepens the wage injustice among employees, should be abolished, to ensure that wages are sufficient for decent living conditions and to survive after retirement, a fixed wage arrangement should be adopted, which will reflect not only on additional payment but also on retirement,

 

* The actual service increase should cover the past works,

 

* It should be paid by multiplying night shifts by 3, which is included in the overtime work, by 2 at weekends and by 4 on feasts, 

 

* Necessary arrangements should be made to take into account the work actually done to take the difference in the risky unit, special or emergency unit,

 

* Psychosocial support should be provided to protect the mental health of nurses and other health professionals and to increase their motivation,

 

* The treatment and recovery processes of nurses receiving Covid-19 treatment should be closely monitored, and curative and rehabilitation services should be provided. Plans should be made about when he/she will start work and in which units he/she can work,

 

* Covid-19 should be considered as an occupational disease for nurses without seeking a casual connection,

 

* It should be ensured that nurses or union representatives are included in the process when making decisions directly related to nurses,

 

* Nurses in the high risk category (such as age, pregnancy, weak immunity, etc.) should be placed in areas with lower risk of infection."