PRESS RELEASE
Inapp, Work: ‘Sociomedical system at risk. Worn-out, tired and decimated staff. Low levels of work satisfaction’
Doctors are on average 51 years old, nurses 47. Three out of four complain about the physical strain, and almost all, about the psychological and emotional burden. Nine out of 10 are unsatisfied with their pay and career prospects.
Fadda: ‘The problem of the shortage of healthcare personnel, which is to an extent, common to all western countries, risks becoming so systemic in Italy to compromise both the wellbeing of employees, already at risk of burnout, and the sustainability of the National Healthcare System. This is due to unresolved structural problems in the relations between the public system and private operators’
Rome, 3 August 2023. Medical personnel in Italy are chronically tired and well beyond the brink of a nervous breakdown. Three out of four employees complain about physical strain, and nine out of 10 about their pay and career prospects – almost all for mental and emotional strain (97% and 93% of subjects respectively). The figure is worrying, not least because our national health system is at stake.
The latest publication by Inapp, “Ageing in healthcare”, was published today. The data in the report was gathered via an avalanche sampling survey, using a questionnaire circulated on social channels, addressed to doctors, nurses and social and health workers, and reporting the health system’s problematic state in the country.
Only a few months ago, during the pandemic, medical personnel were considered heroes. Today, somewhat forgotten by public opinion, they are the ones chronically exhausted and the state of the health sector is particularly concerning.
Between 2008 and 2018, mainly due to the turnover freeze and the cuts in healthcare spending under the regional recovery plans, the NHS workforce shrunk by more than 41,000. This has led to a progressive increase in the average age, which in 2020 was around 51 years for doctors and 47 for nurses. As if this were not enough, by 2027 about 28% of medical staff and 8% of nursing staff are expected to retire. The burden of the job has therefore been concentrated on a small number of workers, and what is more, those who are getting old.
Prof. Sebastiano Fadda states that ‘the problem of the shortage of healthcare personnel, which is to an extent, common to all western countries, risks becoming so systemic in Italy to compromise both the wellbeing of employees, already at risk of burnout and the sustainability of the National Healthcare System. This is due to unresolved structural problems in the relations between the public system and private operators. The increase in the average age of operators and the forthcoming retirements, in the absence of an adequate turnover, risk compromising the efficiency of the services and the very sustainability of our national health system in a phase of progressive increase in demand for prevention, care and assistance services linked to the ageing of the population’.
But how have healthcare workers seen their working conditions change over time? About 70%,” the policy brief states, “consider their working rhythms to have worsened, 65% state the same about the economic conditions and 45% about the opportunities for professional growth. Economic conditions are seen as having worsened the most by workers in public facilities, while changes in working rhythms and hours are seen as having worsened the most by workers in private facilities.
And how do they see their professional future? Economic conditions and working rhythm/hours will be critical factors of work satisfaction in the next five years. Moreover, more than 50% of the respondents, without any particular distinction of gender and age, do not seem to see any possibility of professional development, with career opportunities and level of decision-making autonomy likely to remain unchanged in the next five years.
The fear of a progressive increase in the burden of work remains high, as age increases and almost 76% of the workforce will be over 50 years old. The scenario thus painted, both concerning the current situation and expectations in the near future, seems to warrant considerations of early retirement. Approximately 28% of the total state that they would be interested in the possibility of early retirement, even if it meant a 20-30% reduction in their monthly pension. This is a not insignificant percentage, if one considers that it is not older workers but younger ones who are evidently more concerned about the further commitment and worsening of certain working conditions that they expect to face in the course of a necessarily prolonged working life.
‘Only after strengthening the workforce, introducing new personnel management policies, and properly valuing operators,’ Fadda concluded, ‘will it be possible to actively involve them in the delicate process of transforming the National Health System, which we have been hoping for several years. This must be accompanied by new governance mechanisms that clarify the relationship between public health facilities and private operators, and organise work and service provision according to technological innovation and age management measures. This is the necessary condition to overcome the challenges posed by demographic transformations, to create sustainable work and a robust health system as a whole’.
Technological development, on the other hand, remains a sensitive issue. It is widely shared by healthcare personnel that the low uptake of technology is mainly attributable to a lack of investment by healthcare facilities (90%), a lack of time for training (78%) and excessively expensive equipment (75%). In the face of the limited use of technologies and the difficulties encountered, the participants in the research nevertheless showed commitment to using digital technology and an intention to learn and update themselves (49% of doctors; 54% of nurses; 61% of social and health workers), as well as considering them indispensable to the performance of their work (21% of the total). Therefore, the pro-activity of healthcare personnel – the policy brief suggests – needs to be coupled with systemic interventions that enable operators to interact effectively with technologies and by uniformly strengthening infrastructures throughout the country, to reduce the gaps that already exist and avert the risk of further aggravating the heterogeneity in the use of care services.
For more information:
Giancarlo Salemi – INAPP President Spokesperson (347 6312823)
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