There is currently a shortage of medical and care staff in many hospitals and facilities, mainly in the economically less developed countries of Eastern and Central Europe. However, this shortage naturally has a very negative impact on the health of the population. The situation is no different for carers for the elderly, who therefore have no one to take care of them. There is a shortage of over a million health professionals in the European Union. This figure is way too high. Ensuring adequate health care should be a necessity in every country. It should be accessible to all, regardless of financial status.
Shortage of medical and care staff – what are the consequences?
As a result of the shortage of care staff, doctors and nurses, people are not receiving appropriate care, which affects their health. We wait a long time at the doctors, not only in the waiting room when we are finally there, but also for the appointment itself, as many people need medical help. We will get it only after long waiting times that are present almost everywhere, which will delay possible treatment as the disease will be detected later. In certain cases, it may already be too late, and if the patient had received treatment earlier, his or her life could have been saved.
The lack of carers also has a negative effect on the health of seniors, who are then left to be placed in a care facility or on their own. There, they don’t get the same comfortable careas they do in 24-hour care. They are at risk of various infections from other clients placed in the home, which canendanger their lives. But there is also a shortage of carers in care homes, where there is also lack of carers for the many clients they cannot attend to individually. This shortage also has a negative impact on the families of seniors who have to take care of their parents and grandparents and leave their jobs or hobbies behind.
What solution does Atena offer?
The solution to deal with the shortage of nursing staff for the elderly is to motivate people to take up this dedicated work by offering attractive salaries and support from the employer, i.e. the placement agency. In Atena, we can provide our carers with full service with arranging the transfer from their place of residence to the place of work. So no carer has to worry about getting lost in a foreign country or not hitting the right spot. We motivate them by regularsalaryincreases or signing employment contracts, which means that they work legally and thus do not lose benefits such as sick pay, holiday entitlement and, after all, the years of service count towards their pension, which they will appreciate in the future. Our consultants are available on the phone to support them 24 hours a day in case there are any problems they can’t handle on their own.
In economically advanced countries like Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, we give the carers with less education the chance to work, where they can earn more than they would in their own country. This helps the seniorsthemselves andtheir families, as well as people who are willing to work and earnenough to cover their living needs.
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