Renewed Social Agenda & Patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare (03/07/2008)
The European Commission launched, on 2 July, its Renewed Social Agenda, an ambitious package presenting a comprehensive answer to rapidly changing social and economic EU realities. This package, centred on the three key principles of opportunities, access and solidarity, is aiming to promote social well-being of European citizens by bringing together a wide range of EU policies and instruments, while streamlining and modernising existing policy tools. As part of this Renewed Social Agenda, the Commission adopted a proposal for a directive to facilitate the application of European patients’ rights in relation to cross-border healthcare which aims at clarifying and promoting the right of patients to gain access to healthcare in another EU country by ensuring high quality and safe cross-border healthcare.
French EU Presidency (02/07/2008)
On 1st July, France took up the EU Presidency from Slovenia for a six months period. The four main priorities of the French Presidency, which will focus on “protecting EU citizens”, are: sustainable development and energy; European pact on immigration and asylum; boosting Europe’s defence capacities; and the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (PAC). Other priorities in the agenda are: Lisbon Treaty; policies for economic growth and employment; boosting the social dimension of EU action and mobility (especially mobility in education and lifelong learning); research policy; cultural dimension of Europe; and assessing health issues, such as: Improvement of Health Security; Healthy Ageing; Health determinants; and Serving the patients needs (including the Directive on Cross-Boarder Healthcare) - In this perspective, France is organising a Ministerial Conference on “Europe of Health Serving Patients”, to take place on 13-14 October 2008, in Paris, in which the EFN will participate. Finally, the EFN is looking forward to the French leadership on Patient Rights Directive and the Green Paper on Professional Mobility.
WHO European Ministerial Conference (30/06/2008)
The EFN participated in the WHO European Ministerial Conference on Health Systems “Health Systems, Health and Wealth”, held on 25-27 June 2008, Tallinn, Estonia. Organized in response to resolution EUR/RC55/R8 adopted by the WHO Regional Committee for Europe at its fifty-fifth session in 2005, the Conference brought together Ministers of Health from the 53 Member States in the WHO European Region, and around 500 participants (health systems partners, experts, observers and representatives of international and civil society organizations), to discuss a different way to approach health systems, and how well-functioning health systems contribute not only to health but also to wealth and economic growth. The 53 Health Ministers also signed the Tallinn Charter on “Health Systems for Health and Wealth”, which aims to provide guidance and a strategic framework for strengthening health systems in the WHO European Region. The EFN contributed to the conference through a Policy Statement on Health Systems. EFN, EPHA and IPPF jointly lobbied and had the opportunity talking to the EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, Ms. Androulla Vassiliou, and many other high level policy-makers of WHO, the European Commission and the Council of Europe. The next WHO Regional Committee will take the discussion on Health Systems further and together with the government representatives, EPHA, IPPF and EFN would support the implementation of the concept “stakeholder approach” in policy-making.
EUNetPaS Project – Meeting of Work Package 4 (WP4) (13/06/2008)
The EUNetPaS project WP4 “Field Testing on Medication Safety” members met in Helsinki, Finland, on 11 June 2008, to discuss about the results of the good practices collected up till now and the matrix to be developed to bring all this field work together. A new deadline (3 July 2008) was set to collect more good examples. EFN Secretary General stressed in the meeting that: “We need to empower the new Member States and include their examples in order to prevent making EUNetPaS a ‘West-East’ project”. The criteria for selection of good practices, as well as the indicators of transferability and of evaluation were discussed and it was decided to keep it simple. This project is not about research, it is about what is happening in the field. EFN members are encouraged to send
to their EUNetPaS National Contact Point and to the EFN Brussels Office good practices on patient safety by filling in the template. The overall coordination meeting, in which progress will be presented, will take place in Paris on 22-23 September 2008.
EU Health Policy Forum (05/06/2008)
The EFN participated in the biannual meeting of the EU Health Policy Forum (EUHPF) organised in Brussels on 30 May 2008. Being a meeting between the European Commission DG Sanco and the European health stakeholders (NGOs, patient groups, health professionals and health related industry), these meetings aim to provide an opportunity to learn about and debate on latest European initiatives that have an impact on health policy. Chaired by Robert Madelin, DG Sanco Director General, the meeting provided the participants with information on: the implementation of the new Health Strategy; the Open Health Forum 2008; and the initiatives on cross-border care “Social Package”, Information to Patients and Patient Safety. The EUHPF also amended its Working Methods Policy and approved its Budget Policy. In relation to this last document I hope EFN members will use it at national level, in order to argue for a more significant budget allocation for health. Finally, the Forum is developing a Website on NGOs Forum and I would urge the EFN members to register for your specific countries. The next EUHPF meeting will be held on 7 November 2008.
eHealth 2008 Conference – Slovenia (May 2008)
The EFN was represented by Ms. Molstad, Senior Advisor of the Norwegian Nurses Organisation, a member of EFN, in the eHealth 2008 Conference entitled “eHealth Without Frontiers”, hosted by the Slovenian Ministry of Health. Ms Molstad made a presentation on "For patient safety, to ensure continuity of care", and stated that “To achieve continuity in care we need systems that ensure fast track information to and from the patient, to health care professionals, relatives and all involved in taking care of the patient. Our patients need us to focus on the important issues of competency, interoperability and exchange of information”.
E-health becomes a major topic in the EU policy agenda and EFN needs to explore how EFN members can contribute to it in the most efficient and effective way. The European Commission and WHO are cooperating very closely in the issue of telemedicine and eHealth in general, however each institution has its constituency priorities. It is interesting to explore how and where EFN members provide tele-nursing services and what the impact is on the services outcomes. A close collaboration with ESNO, in specific ACENDIO, is essential to influence EU policies in the field of e-health.
EUNetPaS Project – Meeting of Work Package 2 (WP2) (27/05/2008)
The EUNetPaS project WP2 “education” members met in Athens, Greece, on 15-16 May 2008. The WP2 leader, Ms Zoi Kolitsi from the Greek Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity stated: “I am very happy with the progress that we made through very complex and challenging issues.” The richness of reflections of the different partners led to concrete steps forward in developing a framework for collecting what exists in Member States on Patient Safety education activities, and drafting the first outline of a practical supportive guidance to support organisations and public authorities to best plan and implement education and training initiatives to improve Patient Safety in Member States. The WP4 “Field Testing on Medication Safety” will take place in Helsinki on 11 June 2008, followed by an overall coordination meeting in Paris on 22-23 September 2008.
EUNetPaS National Contact Points
35th Panhellenic Congress, 12-15 May 2008 (22/05/2008)
The EFN participated in the 35th Panhellenic Congress, organised by the Hellenic Nurses Association, an EFN Member, in Athens, Greece. The theme of this year annual Congress bringing together around 3.000 Greek nurses was: “Nursing: Quality and Safety in the Working Environment”. Addressing to the audience, the EFN General Secretary, explained that “Nurses are the promoters and vehicle for change. Nurses want to see results so recommendations and guidelines are not only ending up on book shelves.”
International Nurses Day – 12 May 2008 (12/05/2008)
Celebrated every year by nurses worldwide, the International Nurses Day commemorates the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth. This year, the International Council of Nurses (ICN) has declared “Delivering Quality, Serving Communities: Nurses Leading Primary Health Care” as the theme for this important day. Primary Health Care is back on the global health agenda and nurses, as the largest professional group in the healthcare sector and the principal group of health personnel providing Primary Health Care, are leading the way in bringing essential health service to communities everywhere. Due to the demographic changes, it is essential for the future to focus on prevention and primary healthcare, and to analyse the key role primary care plays in the current and future delivery of health services. Furthermore, Member States will need to adapt their national health systems to prepare for the increase in long-term healthcare needs.
EPC-CHES meeting on “Health professionals’ migration” (21 04 2008)
Speaking at the First meeting of the EPC Coalition for Health, Ethics and Society (CHES) on “Health professionals’ migration”, the EFN General Secretary, Mr Paul De Raeve, highlighted that leadership and good governance are key for successful policy outcomes. A Stakeholder Approach, involving Civil Society, leads to more realistic and effective policies and plans, as well as improved implementation and outcomes. Greater information and broader experiences make it easier to develop and implement realistic policies and plans and new initiatives are embedded into existing developments. Good governance principles such as openness, participation, accountability, coherence and effectiveness are central to achieve successful policy outcomes at European and global level. It is essential to build synergies between the policy-making processes of the WHO, the European Commission and the Council of Europe.
EFN Spring General Assembly - Copenhagen (14/04/2008)
The EFN held its 88th General Assembly, on 10-11 April 2008, in Copenhagen, hosted by the Danish Nurses Organisation (DNO). The EFN members discussed important issues such as: the EFN involvement in several EU projects (EUNetPaS, HealthPROelderly, Mobility of Health Professionals, Human Resources Planning in Nursing), EFN input to the EU consultation processes (Health Services Directive, Patient Safety, Mobility of Health Professionals, Information to Patients, Needlesticks Injuries), and approved the EFN Position Paper on Structural Funds. All the members present were asked to inform the Assembly on the main issues they are working on, and the ‘Tour de table’ showed that several EU countries are negotiating with their governments to have better salaries’ rates, and that others are undertaking reforms within the nursing education system, as well as regarding (specialist) nurses competencies. The EFN would like to take this opportunity to thank all the EFN members for their hard work and successful outcomes of the meeting.
Health and Security of EU citizens – Central for the new EU Health Commissioner (02/04/2008)
Speaking to the meeting of the European Parliament Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI), on 1st April 2008, the new designated Commissioner for Health, Ms Androula Vassiliou, responded to more than 60 questions from the MEPs present and highlighted some of the priorities of her mandate. She expressed her determination to submit a proposal on cross-border health care by June 2008, which would focus on patients' rights and increased access to health care. Referring to ‘Information to Patient’, she stated that it is essential for all patients to have access to objective and high quality information and that the role of healthcare professionals as providers of information to patients cannot be underestimated. Finally, Ms Vassiliou declared that it is important to put quality first and not quantity. Women and health is another important topic in her agenda.
On 9 April MEPs voted 446 votes in favour, 7 against and 29 abstentions in favour of her appointment of as new Health Commissioner. She will remain in office for 18 months, as the mandate of the Barroso Commission is set to end in autumn 2009.
The EUNetPaS project officially launched (18/03/2008)
The European Union Network for Patient Safety Project (EUNetPaS) has been officially launched on 28-29 February 2008, in Utrecht, The Netherlands. Coordinated by HAS (Haute Autorité de la Santé - France) and financed by the European Commission within the 2007 Public Health Programme, the project aims to establish an umbrella network of all 27 EU Member States and EU stakeholders (including EFN, CPME, EPF, PGEU and HOPE) to encourage and enhance collaboration in the field of Patient Safety. Its main objective is to produce a European added value of Member States collaboration by mutual support, transfer of knowledge and good practice and exchange of ideas and materials for accelerating progress in Patient Safety. As associated partner, the EFN will be involved in the Working Packages on “Patient Safety Culture”, “Education and training”, “Field Testing on Medication Safety” and “Evaluation of the project”. The next meeting will take place on 22-23 September 2008 in Paris - France, during the French Presidency of the European Union. An intermediate meeting for WP2 will take place on 15-16 May 2008, in Athens - Greece and for WP4 on 10-11 June 2008, in Helsinki - Finland.
Skill Mix and Skill Needs (10/03/2008)
The European Commission, in collaboration with the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop), published the first EU forecast of skill needs until 2015. The study, entitled “Future skill needs in Europe: medium-term forecast”, shows that the demand for skills and qualifications is being driven upwards in most occupations, and that the economy as a whole will generate more than 13 million new jobs by 2015. Three million additional jobs would be created in education, health and social work. According to the European Commission the changes in skill requirements will have serious implications for employment as a shrinking workforce implies workers in all occupations will need to be replaced, while these new workers will need higher qualifications to perform the same job.
EU Commissioner for Health is back to Cyprus (05/03/2008)
Shortly after Dimitris Christofias was sworn in as new Cypriot President, the European Commissioner for Health, Markos Kyprianou, has resigned from its current position to take up the role of Foreign Minister in the new Cypriot Government. The challenge is huge: the reunification on the divided island, split in 1974. The EFN wishes him all success and takes this opportunity to thank him for all the progresses made related to health in the European Union. The EFN also takes this opportunity to welcome the new EU Health Commissioner, Mrs Androulla Vassiliou, wife of the former Cypriot President - George Vassiliou, and a strong advocate for Civil Society. She has a reputation for action and support to women. The new Commissioner will stay in office for 18 months as the current Commission mandate ends in autumn 2009.
Accession process – Croatia on its way to the EU (24/02/2008)
The second workshop on ‘National Nursing and Midwifery Strategy in the Process of Accessing to the EU’, organised by the Croatian Nurses Association and the Technical Assistance Information Exchange Unit of the European Commission (TAIEX), in Zagreb, Croatia, brought together nursing professionals from all over Croatia: principles of medical universities, nursing faculties, governmental officials, employers and, for the first time, nurses and nursing officials from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. The workshop focused on nursing curricula and educational programs in Croatia; the EU requirements on Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications; and the National Nursing Strategy as part of the Croatian Health Strategy. These workshops are very important as it brings together all Croatian nursing decision makers, such as: government representatives, the National Nursing Association, the Nursing Council and the Nursing Union, who seat together to discuss and cooperate on important issues for Croatian Nurses.
EU Structural & Cohesion Funds (18/02/2008)
In September 2007, the EU Budget Commissioner, Ms Dalia Grybauskaite, was urging the new EU Member States to take the necessary measures, after the EU Budget report revealed that 43% of their structural funds and 78% of their cohesion funds had gone unused. On 12 February 2008, Ms Danuta Hübner, EU Commissioner for Regional Policy announced that the new Member States were now approaching their absorption rates close to those of the EU15 and that the EU countries have until the end of 2008 to claim reimbursement for programmes under the 2000-2006 period. In the meantime, the 2007-2013 period is already well under way, with 417 of 434 operational programmes already adopted by the Commission, representing 98% of the 347 Billion Euros to be invested. The key aim for 2008 will be to ensure that EU money is not only being spent but also well-spent, and to ensure the quality of investment, concentrating on innovation, economic modernisation and the Lisbon goals of growth and job creation.
EFN Executive Committee meeting, 25 January 2008, Brussels (30/01/2008)
The EFN Executive Committee met on 25 January 2008, in the EFN Brussels Office, for their first annual meeting, where important issues related to EFN and EFN lobby process within the European arena were discussed. The Executive Committee prepared the April General Assembly in Copenhagen by discussing the working method and the work plans for 2008 of the three EFN Committees, analyse the EFN budget and discussed the EFN alliances with major stakeholders in the field of health and nursing. The Executive Committee endorsed the EFN Annual Report 2007.
EU's Health Services Directive (29/01/2008)
After a public consultation in 2006 and several delays in 2007, the proposal for a framework Directive for Cross-border Healthcare in the EU, shelved on 19 December 2007 due to internal disagreement within the Commission and heavy criticism from some MEPs, could be redrafted, withdrawn or downgraded. One of the reasons put forward for holding up the proposal concerns fears that it could be considered as ‘the second Bolkestein Directive’. This could come at a politically sensitive time for the EU in the run-up to the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty and the European Parliament elections in 2009! No date is currently foreseen for the publication of a revised proposal. The EFN General Secretary published an article on "The Future EU Health Services” in the European Parliament Magazine.
European Parliament makes progress on Health and Safety at Work! (24/01/2008)
The European Parliament adopted a resolution based on the own-initiative report by Glenis Willmott (PES, UK) in response to the Commission’s communication on the Community strategy 2007-2012 on health and safety at work. Stephen Hughes (MEP) took this opportunity to call on Commissioner Stavros Dimas to act urgently on needlesticks injuries. The legislation should be proposed in the course of 2008. Regarding Healthcare Associated Infections (HCAIs), the MEPs call on the Commission to take the lead in developing and agreeing an EU code of practice on the prevention of HCAIs to improve health and safety in healthcare settings, including care homes, by initiating measures to encourage routine screening of healthcare staff to enable early detection and treatment of communicable infections.
Slovenian EU Presidency (10/01/2008)
On 1st January 2008, Slovenia took up the EU Presidency from Portugal. During the six coming months, Slovenia will focus on issues, such as:
1. The future of the Union and the Lisbon Treaty to be in force
by January 2009, before the next elections to the European
Parliament;
2. The Lisbon Strategy second cycle (2008-2010), capable of
mobilising and empowering European citizens;
3. To promote dialogue between cultures, beliefs and traditions,
in the context of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue.
Regarding health, the Slovenian Presidency will continue to work on the promotion of health by encouraging a healthy lifestyle; prevention and control of communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS; innovation in healthcare; and accessibility of healthcare services.
14/12/2007
2007 is drawing to a close, and together with other EU key stakeholders, the EFN gave input to the European policy processes, leading to the preparation of EU policies on health services, the health strategy, patient safety and EU ethical recruitment guidelines. All these policies will affect the daily work of 6 million nurses throughout the European Union and Europe. But the EFN could not have achieved so much without the commitment, participation and dedication of its members. Therefore, I would like to thank all of you for your successful collaboration.
The EFN, and all its members, wishes you a peaceful Christmas and a prosperous New Year with close collaboration, international commitment and mutual understanding for the promotion and protection of the nurses and the nursing profession.
Paul de Raeve Grete Christensen
EFN General Secretary EFN President
