Italy
The Fp-Cgil public services federation is putting forward a series of measures to address the serious challenges of understaffing in healthcare. The union says that the country needs to recruit 60,000 nurses just to maintain current standards and another 140,000 to reach European standards. It warns that the next five years will see over 52,000 nurses leave for retirement and says that surveys reveal around 50% of nurses are dissatisfied with their work due to the inability to maintain the expected standards of care and their lack of involvement in decisions. The federation’s proposals include a new approach to plan for training needs; defining care standards; increases to funding for recruitment and launching an emergency recruitment plan; pay and conditions that recognise professionalism in both public and private sectors and increase the attractiveness working in healthcare; and action to address problems with work organisation, shifts and to improve work-life balance.
