Medical union: ICUs will close if nurses are fired because of refusal to vaccinate

We call on the government to find a solution and ensure the activities of 1091 health workers, of which 720 are intensive care unit nurses (ΜΕΘ)- ΜΑΦ and ΤΕΠ.

ΠΟΕΔΗΝ rings the bells once again, declaring that if the emergency critical care and public health nurses don’t stay at ΕΣΥ, they will close the intensive care unit.

As emphasized by ΠΟΕΔΗΝ, in the summer of 2020, the government launched a new institutional structure for nursing specialties with the inclusion of new specialties and the duration of the program. In fact, in June 2020, he recommended 2,250 positions in various hospitals for this purpose, of which 1,650 positions were to be created for “Emergency and Intensive Care” and 650 for “Public Health Nursing/Community Care”, setting conditions for participation .

For the first time, the program also includes nursing graduates who do not work in the public sector (70-30). The program lasts 18 months.

Starting September 2020, they began to place specialized nurses, especially for emergency and intensive care, in ICUs throughout the country. In fact, in many hospitals, more than 20 nurses serve for 18 months, making up an important functional part of the work of intensive care units – ΜΑΦ, with full-time status.

The number of trainee nurses has increased from 171 in September 2020 to 470 in October, to 641 in November and to 720 in December 2020, and today (latest data as of December 2021) we have reached 1091 trainee nurses.

Until the end of March 2022, trainee nurses will gradually master the specialty and, based on written examinations, will receive a title in their specialty. The current institutional structure does not allow nurses to stay in hospitals for more than 18 months.

Everyone understands that from March to June 2022, more than 720 specialized nurses who will currently work full-time in the most critical departments of the hospitals, the ΜΕΘ and ΜΑΦ intensive care units, will gradually leave the ΕΣΥ hospitals. In fact, in many ΜΕΘs and ΜΑΦs, the above beds that have been installed and are operating today are largely due to their staffing of specialized nurses. We ALL understand the unfilled gap that will arise with their departure. The work of ΜΕΘ-ΜΑΦ beds, which are already working and needed today, more than ever, will be suspended. There will also be serious staffing problems for ΤΕΠ.

PAΟΕΔΗN emphasizes in its statement that the government and the Ministry of Health must take appropriate action IMMEDIATELY to ensure the activity of specialized nurses in hospitals. Otherwise, he disclaims responsibility. With an ongoing pandemic and hundreds of deaths, every day would criminally lead to the closure of the intensive care unit:

“We call on the government and the Ministry of Health, along with the extension of support services until the end of 2022, as announced by the Minister of Health, to find a solution and ensure the stay of 1,091 specialized nurses, of which 720 are ΜΕΘ and ΜΑΦ intensive care nurses.”

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