Czech hospitals will make up for the shortage of nurses with staff from Ukraine
A survey of more than 150 directors of Czech hospitals showed that about 70% of respondents fear a deterioration in the quality of medical care. A third of them also mention that patients will have to travel considerable distances to find the necessary doctor.
A shortage of nurses is also observed in the largest Czech hospital – Motol. This is stated by the director of the multidisciplinary medical facility, Miloslav Ludvik: "Female staff are not satisfied with the shift system. The hospital has outpatient clinics and clinics where the working day starts and ends at a set time, for example, starting at seven in the morning and ending at half past three in the afternoon. But such a system does not exist directly in the hospital wards of our medical facility."
The Czech Republic plans to attract more nurses from Ukraine. That is why the Czech Ministry of Health, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is promoting the simplification of the procedure for obtaining a work permit.
As stated by Deputy Minister of Health Lenka Teska-Arnostova, representing the ruling Social Democrats of the Czech Republic, the Czech Ministry of Health plans to simplify the system of education for nurses. Soon the bill will be submitted to the government: "First of all, we plan to reduce the training period for nurses from 4 to 3 years. In addition, we want to open a new specialty – 'nurse practitioner', who will have additional competencies. She will be able to provide professional medical care without supervision from senior colleagues."
The study 'Barometer of Czech Healthcare' was carried out by the charitable organization HealthCare Institute. The results of the analysis showed that in addition to doctors and nurses, hospitals also need orderlies and administrative staff.
By the way, nurses from Ukraine are expected to arrive in the Czech Republic soon. The first 25 nurses have been studying Czech for almost a year and are waiting for visas. Initially, they will start working as auxiliary staff. After the women learn Czech and pass the necessary exams, they will take up positions as nurses.
According to Radio Prague, the group of Ukrainian women will be brought to the Czech Republic by the 3rd Faculty of Medicine of Charles University, which has signed a cooperation agreement with the University in Uzhgorod. Initially, 35 nurses were supposed to take part in the pilot project, but some of them were not selected due to non-compliance with European education criteria. If everything goes according to plan, the first Ukrainian nurses will arrive in the Czech Republic in September.