Hospital.Help

Berlin – In view of the acute shortage of personnel in nursing, the Left Party has called on the federal government to launch a “return offensive” in order to win back employees who have left.

According to studies, 300,000 additional full-time nursing positions would be possible “by returning to work or increasing working hours,” said Left leader Janine Wissler on yesterday’s International Day of Nurses. To do this, the federal government must make the nursing profession more attractive and support offers for a four-day week with wage compensation.

“Over 60 percent of nursing staff do not work full-time, (…) because the work is too stressful and there are no childcare options,” said Wissler. “Many have left the job or are working part-time because the working conditions are unbearable.” Wissler spoke of a “vicious circle”: “Too much stress due to too few staff – that’s why people leave and the stress increases even more.”

Specifically, the Left Party is calling on the federal government to financially support projects to gradually introduce the four-day week. The party put the costs at around 8.5 billion euros.

In addition, the Left believes it is necessary to abolish pensions at 67 for care workers. Given the hard physical work involved, many would not even be able to work until they were 63, the party said. What is therefore necessary is an earlier “retirement without deductions”.

The party also explained that “urgent relief needs to be provided for caring relatives through more places in short-term and preventative care”. The care allowance must be increased by 20 percent because home care has become “a poverty trap” due to inflation. © afp/aerzteblatt.de