The European Parliament SANT Committee has voted and endorsed the SANT opinion to the EMPL INL on Psychosocial Risks, drafted by rapporteur Irena Joveva (Renew, Slovenia). This is an important outcome for the EFN, as nurses, together with doctors, are the EU professions facing the highest exposure to psychosocial risks on the workplace.
The crisis affecting nurses and doctors is clearly identified in the WHO Europe Mental Health of Nurses and Doctors (MeND) Survey, to which EFN has contributed, which found that one in three doctors and nurses report depression, one in ten experience passive suicidal thoughts, one in three doctors and nurses have experienced bullying or violent threats at work, and one in ten have experienced physical violence and/or sexual harassment.
Therefore, EFN welcomes that recommendations on Safe Staffing Levels (SSL) are included in the SANT opinion, and calls on the EMPL committee to integrate these recommendation in the INL on Psychosocial Risks, which is currently under negotiation. However, EFN and CPME, in a Joint Statement, are calling on the EMPL Committee to go one step further, and address these recommendations on Safe Staffing Levels specifically for nurses and doctors, otherwise, the crisis will only worsen