The International Council of Nurses refers to a “steady and catastrophic increase in the number of deaths and infection rates of nurses due to COVID-19”.
- More than a thousand nurses are said to have died in 44 countries as a result of Covid-19
- This figure is communicated by a federation of 130 national nursing associations
- This organization points to shortcomings concerning the personal protection and tests available to these health professionals
Nurses have been, and still are, on the front lines of the Covid-19 outbreak. A federation of 130 national nurses associations, the International Council of Nurses, is today calling on governments to better protect them. In one report, the organization reveals that more than a thousand nurses have died from the disease, in the 44 countries for which it had data. “ICN calls on governments to address their collective failure and prioritize health workers at all levels.”declares the organization in a communicated. He points to several shortcomings, including the lack of tests and personal protective equipment, lack of training on infection prevention and control, and insufficient psychological support.
A lack of consideration
“ICN research indicates that the true scale of the mental health consequences of COVID-19 will certainly be seen in increased illness, absenteeism, burnout and more nurses leaving the profession for health reasons”, says Howard Catton, CEO of CII. According to him, the lack of protection of the nursing staff risks having consequences for the patients. “The stark truth is that healthcare worker safety and patient safety are two sides of the same coin, one does not go without the other.”, did he declare. For Annette Kennedy, President of the ICC, the pandemic has “confirmed things that the nursing community has known for a long time, namely that nurses are undervalued, underpaid and sometimes treated as outcasts”.
Recognition as an occupational disease
The ICN estimates that around 10% of health workers have been infected with Covid-19, or three million people worldwide. But less than half of the countries studied classify the pathology among occupational diseases: “which has serious consequences in terms of compensation, whether in the event of illness or death”, says the ICN statement. In France, a decree, published Monday, September 14, 2020, stipulates that Covid-19 is an occupational disease only for nursing staff who have needed ventilatory assistance or for those who have died. For other caregivers or people exercising another profession but who have contracted the disease at their place of work, it is possible to make a request, which will be studied by a dedicated committee. “It is the cross and the banner, declared Catherine Pinchaut, in charge of occupational health issues at the CFDT, to Release. For all the employees who were not working from home, who continued to run the store and who were in situations where there was little or no protection at the start, it must be obvious that they have been contaminated with gig.” Several unions and associations considered the decree insufficient.
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