Caregivers and nursing staff receive many expressions of appreciation for their work. But that does not make him better paid. Thousands of people have left the profession since the beginning of the pandemic.
Salaries for health care workers in hospitals and care homes rose only slightly during the coron pandemic. So show the estimates of the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden.
According to these data, full-time employees in hospitals in the average wage group 3 had an average gross monthly salary of 3,898 euros in the second quarter of 2021. For comparison, this figure was 3,657 euros in the second quarter of 2019, dmth. , before the onset of the pandemic.
For two years, 241 euros have been added. The data does not take into account special additional payments. In homes for the chronically ill, the average salary of professionals in group 3 increased by 193 euros over the same period, to 3,532 euros, according to statisticians.
“Insufficient thanks”
Dietmar Bartsch, head of the Left Party parliamentary group in the Bundestag, told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung that the pay rise was not enough thanks to the hard work of the three corona waves. According to him, the small increase after two years is so low as to be ashamed. “This exacerbates the emergency situation in care and actually costs a shortage of places in intensive care. Who is surprised that many of the care staff are leaving the profession?” The left-wing politician asked.
Bartsch asked, “We need to turn caregivers and nursing staff into well-paying people in this country in order to attract as many people leaving the profession as possible.” In the short term I need “at least 500 euros increase of the basic salary for nursing and care staff, plus full compensation for inflation”.
Thousands of caretakers have resigned
Anja Piel, board member of the Confederation of German Trade Unions, demanded in an interview with the newspaper “an adequate salary guaranteed by a collective agreement, which should also be competitive with other sectors that are much less stressful”. In addition, she demanded that general conditions be improved. This means more time with patients, better staff and a better work-life balance.
Piel complained that since the start of the pandemic in March 2020 and until the spring of 2021, about 9,000 people have resigned from care and nursing staff, with a growing trend. “The reasons are the state of permanent overload, the lack of staff, the endangerment of their health – sometimes the necessary protective clothing was missing – as well as the endangerment of the family and the constant stress.”
Many intensive care units operate only to a limited extent
Lack of staff is a problem for many hospitals. According to DIVI Intensive Care Record figures, of which Der Spiegel magazine was aware, clinics justify the limitations in seven out of ten staff shortages.
According to this report, only a quarter of the 1,300 intensive care units for adults announced regular operation earlier this week. This ratio is the highest since the beginning of the pandemic.
Emergency backup activation?
Last weekend, FDP politician Wolfgang Kubicki demanded in an interview with “Spiegel” to activate the emergency reserve of nearly 10 thousand beds declared in the DIVI intensive care register.
However, they should not be immediately ready for operation, but can be gradually activated within seven days, canceling or postponing other medications./DW