The nurses are collapsing. 23% have ended up on sick leave due to situations of anxiety, stress or mental exhaustion related to work, according to the responses received by the General Nursing Council (CGE) from almost 10,000 professionals from hospitals, outpatient clinics and social health centers. has asked how they are doing in their day-to-day work. More than half consider that their situation has worsened after the pandemic and six out of ten have considered leaving the profession. AND
“The increase in sick leave due to emotional burden has increased extraordinarily in the last two years: it has gone from 16.5% in 2022 to 23%,” highlights the ‘Study on the impact of healthcare pressure on the nursing profession’ , whose second edition was presented this Monday. The first was published in 2022 and sought to measure the havoc that the pandemic had caused in the profession. Now that this situation is over, the problems continue. The sample is dominated by public health workers (75% of the total).
The figures are “alarming”, according to the General Nursing Council, which links the data obtained with the shortage of professionals. There are 123,000 nurses missing to reach European ratios, the same institution denounced two weeks ago. “Numerous national and international studies indicate that the lack of nurses increases the care burden and in turn worsens people’s care. And this is clearly reflected in the figures presented,” the institution notes in a press release.
57.7% of those surveyed claim that they have an excessive workload and the pressure of care affects almost nine out of ten professionals quite a bit or a lot (88.3%). Asked about specific discomforts, 86.1% of the nurses say they have suffered episodes of stress, 66.6% anxiety, 60% insomnia and 27.2% declare they have suffered depression.
“It is not a question of suffering these episodes to treat them when they occur, but of putting up barriers and prevention mechanisms so that they do not happen. We talk a lot about caring for the caregiver, but we must do it from the beginning. There is no point in caring for someone when they are already overwhelmed, we have to work so that prevention is our flag,” asked Raquel Rodríguez Llanos, vice president of the CGE. 63.1% of those consulted declare that they have needed professional psychological help, although only 37.8% have had access to it.
A recent research titled Nursing shortage in Spain: from the global case to the particular situation He confirmed with data that the problem in the sector – with a historical deficit of professionals – is no longer migration to other countries where they are paid better or have more possibilities to develop their career, nor is it that there are no people interested in studying the career. The situation can only be explained by the fact that they leave the profession. 36% of those surveyed by the General Nursing Council say that if they had to choose a career again, they would not choose Nursing.
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