Catherine Fonck was the guest of Bel RTL Matin this Wednesday. The Committed to the Chamber group leader answered Antonio Solimando’s questions.
For her there is a “vital urgency for the quality of patient care” due to the shortage of nurses. Worried, Catherine Fonck pleads for the priority implementation of an attractiveness plan to fight against the flight of white coats. This is a crucial issue to consider quickly.
Every day in the press, we denounce an additional medical shortage. General practitioners, orthodontists. And this morning, you tell us that the worst are the nurses. For now, we do nothing.
“I’m not saying that we are not doing anything, but it is largely insufficient in relation to the seriousness of the situation. We are lucky in Belgium to have very efficient health care and that is good, but we also has weaknesses. And today, there is an absolute priority first and foremost for patients, it is clearly to have an attractiveness plan for nurses but also for a whole other series of professions care, such as radiotherapy technologists for cancer patients. If this is a priority, it is because the findings are terrible. We have thousands of beds that are closed. We have a situation in level of the home and nursing homes which is not simpler. We therefore have postponements of care and above all we see that there is a flight from the profession, for example on the part of hospital nurses with a departure sometimes after ten years. If we do nothing, we will lose in quality of care, in postponement of care.”
It’s been said for years. Let’s be concrete, what exactly do we do in your plan, if you were Minister of Health?
“A plan to attract and revalorize care professions. This involves salary levels, supervision standards, today we have a higher number of patients to care for per nurse in Belgium than anywhere else. elsewhere in Europe. Which obviously means that the pressure is increasing, that people no longer have the time. 70% of nurses do not have time.”
At night, on average, you have to take care of 18 patients…
“18 patients at night is huge. 9.4 during the day compared to 8 at European level.”
According to Catherine Fonck, the situation is getting worse. She therefore hopes that the Ministers of Health will take measures quickly to be able to attract more candidates to nursing schools and motivate those who already practice this profession.
The interview of the group leader in full: