Guest article: "Discrimination against nursing staff is also fatal in economic terms"
Prof Dr Margareta Halek from Witten/Herdecke University explains why we need to redefine the value of care.
In the debate about appropriate salaries and better working conditions in the care sector, the crucial contribution that carers make to society is often overlooked. Prof Dr Margareta Halek, nursing scientist and Dean of the Faculty of Health at Witten/Herdecke University, explains in an interview why the conventional assessment of nurses is economically short-sighted.
"Our Nurses. Our Future." With this slogan, the International Council of Nursing (ICN) reminds us of the importance of the nursing profession for the future of our associations. This year, the ICN is adding the motto: The economic power of care. What can we understand by this?
Prof Dr Margareta Halek: The ICN wants to make it clear once again that neglecting or discriminating against the nursing profession, which is the backbone of healthcare, is also fatal in economic terms. This is not just about the fact that carers are often underpaid and not adequately valued, although this is an important point.
For example, we are currently debating whether 4000 euros a month is sufficient or appropriate. This means we accept that there is an enormous difference in pay between healthcare professions, for example in hospitals, although all healthcare professions are financed by society. A wealthy nurse would be more likely to cause irritation.
The main issue is that inefficient use of nursing skills and competences for the healthcare of the entire population leads to high costs in the health care system that could be avoided. The benefits of using academically qualified nursing staff are well documented. However, in Germany, for example, the findings from nursing research are not being utilised effectively for the further development of the health care system.
Can you give an example of this?
Let's take, for example, the new definition of the need for long-term care under long-term care insurance. There were years of discussions within and outside the care science community that the old definition of the need for care, i.e. the question of which criteria can be used as a basis for assessing the need for care, was far too behaviour-oriented and lacked a scientific basis. Then, in a very extensive process, a team of care scientists developed a proposal for a new formulation of the concept of the need for care, which actually found its way into the Care Insurance Act and into assessment practice.
What has not changed to date, however, are the conditions under which services are provided. Care services are still forced to bill their care services to the care insurance fund in the form of so-called service complexes: complete washing, partial washing, etc. The fact that, on top of this, the care insurance funds are only covering a small proportion of the cost increases caused by inflation and higher energy costs, and that many care services and inpatient care facilities are therefore threatened with insolvency, is yet another sign that the concerns of the care sector - and of course those in need of care - are not being listened to in this country. Or is a stabilisation package along the lines of the Lufthansa model being planned during the pandemic? In the long term, this will lead to financial damage that society will have to bear.
What needs to change?
At this point, the ICN speaks of a necessary change of perspective: we should consider the economic value that nursing care provides for the existence and continued existence of society. In times of economic crisis, expenditure is often cut or budgets limited in the social and/or healthcare sector - and therefore in nursing care. The latest example could be health kiosks and primary care centres. This must stop.
Politicians and decision-makers in the health care system, but also society as a whole, are far too often unaware of the substantial contribution made by nursing care, or they suppress the facts. It is important to recognise that healthcare and nursing are an investment and not simply a cost.
The ICN already formulated this claim last year on the International Day of Carers, and it still applies today and in the future.