EU Workforce for Health (07/07/2010)
The EFN was present in Strasbourg during the last European Parliament Plenary Session that took place from 5 to 8 July 2010, to promote the EP Written Declaration on the EU Workforce for Health. The majority of the MEPs contacted welcomed the Declaration and expressed their interest in nurses and nursing. Being in line with the EFN Position on the EU Workforce for Health, the Declaration coded N° 40/2010, and tabled by the five MEPs - Oana Elena Antonescu MEP (Romania, EPP), Jean Lambert MEP (UK, Greens/EFA), Antonyia Parvanova MEP (Bulgaria, ALDE), Marc Tarabella MEP (Belgium, S&D) and Thomas Ulmer MEP (Germany, EPP), has been signed by 98 MEPs up till now. And we need to reach the total number of 369 signatures for the text to be adopted. As many declarations are being promoted currently, the EFN needs to make the difference. Thus, the EFN members will play a crucial role in promoting the declaration next to their MEPs, before the next plenary session on 6-9 September 2010, as the Declaration are signed at that moment. Deadline for MEPs to sign the Declaration: 17 September 2010.
Patient Safety Conference (04/06/2010)
Patient safety is amongst the highest priorities in the EU and the EFN policy agendas. The European Commission, together with the Council and the Parliament, have been committed to tackling the issue as estimations reveal that 8 to 12% of patients admitted to hospital in the EU suffer from adverse events. Moreover, when thinking of high quality healthcare, the most important criterion is well trained healthcare professionals. Taking into account the responsibility of the regulatory bodies in terms of professions’ regulation, the socio-economical context, and the need to guaranty equity as regards access to high quality healthcare, the ‘Ordem dos Enfermeiros’ (Nurses regulatory body), a member of EFN, organised a conference on Patient Safety, in Lisbon-Portugal, on 2 June 2010. The objective of this conference was to identify the potential/constrains of the healthcare systems centred on the patient and to deepen the relationship between health sustainability and regulation. Invited as keynote speaker, the EFN General Secretary made a presentation on “Patient Safety in the EU” and mentioned that “as free movement of persons is one of the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the European Treaty, we need to make sure that EU standards in care, standards in education and standards in recruitment are met at EU level, to comply with global challenges”.
1st European Biosafety Summit (02/06/2010)
As a follow-up of the adoption of the new European Directive on prevention from sharps injuries, the Spanish General Council of Nursing, a member of EFN, with the support of the Spanish EU Presidency, organised an EU Summit on Sharps Injuries, in Madrid-Spain, on 1-2 June 2010, with a focus on the way to implement effectively the Directive across Europe, at national, regional and local levels, including clarification of the content of the Directive, its extension to other occupational groups and learning from existing best practice, clinical evidence and experience of implementation. Draft implementation guidance and details of the new European Biosafety Network were also presented for consideration and agreement. This first EU Biosafety Summit, attended by most of EFN members, including EFN President and General Secretary, is an important public expression of the European social commitment to the prevention of risks associated with blood-borne diseases, which have a huge impact on the health of the workers and the citizens of European Union. Invited as key speaker, the EFN President made a presentation on “Ensuring the safety of patients and healthcare workers” and explained that “We all have a responsibility to avoid sharp injuries and this agreement and directive have paved the road for a safer future. In spite of many concerns I believe that the social dialogue has been a success. And it is my hope that with this directive we have ensured the safety of patients and the healthcare workers”.
Croatian Nurses Association 4th Nursing Congress
(20/05/2010)
The EFN participated in the Croatian Nurses Association (CNA) 4th Nursing Congress “Nursing: The spectrum of differences”, held in Zagreb – Croatia, on 15-18 May 2010. The congress was attended by over 300 nurses and international speakers including WHO, ICN, EFNNMA, RCN, and EFN. A wide spectrum of current topics in nursing where covered including nursing in the process of Croatian accession to the European Union, nursing migration, patient safety, nursing ethics, leadership in nursing, nursing research, nursing education and continuous professional development. Throughout the congress Directive 2005/36/EC was discussed as an important driving force in improving the standards of nurse education in accession countries, while also being a source of political pressure towards upgrading the profession of nursing and preserving quality of patient care. The EFN made a presentation on “nurse migration” and highlighted its implications in education, safety and workforce planning. Finally, Ms. Branka Rimac, CNA President, was congratulated for her hard work in bringing Croatian nursing in the heart of the EU as well as for her humanitarian and international activity. The international community encouraged the Croatian government to continue to work closely with the CNA for the benefit of national healthcare as well as for a smooth accession in the EU.
ICN, ICM, & WHO Triad meeting (19/05/2010)
The EFN participated in the Triad meeting organised by the International Council of Nurses (ICN), the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), and the World Health Organisation (WHO) on 14-15 May 2010 in Geneva, Switzerland, which brought together Government Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officers, representatives of national nursing and midwifery associations and regulatory bodies from 85 countries. The program of the meeting included various important Nursing and health related issues, which have been discussed among International Nursing and Midwifery leaders. The themes of the meeting included presentations by colleagues on strengthening Health Systems, Chronic disease and Primary Health Care and Nursing contribution in development of health care delivery. All presentations have given the opportunity for discussions, which has been included in the “Triad Communiqué”. The EFN Vice-President, Mr Ioannis Leontiou, made a presentation on “The economic Crisis: Impact and the way forward” which is of high priority for the EFN members and has been under the scope of the Spring General Assembly meeting held in April 2009, in Brussels. Mr. Leontiou stated that “The efforts towards developing a high quality and sustainable health workforce able to deliver the highest standards of safety and quality in healthcare must not be sacrificed for short term gains.”
INTERNATIONAL NURSES DAY - Acting for Better EU Workforce for Health (12/05/2010)
Recently the European Commission DG Sanco presented estimations that by 2020 the EU would be facing a shortage of 590.000 nurses, 230.000 doctors and 150.000 allied health professionals. It is therefore extremely important that the EU Member States tackle the challenges of EU workforce for health in order to safeguard the quality and safety of care for all European citizens. As a follow-up of the European Commission consultation on the Green paper on the EU Workforce for Health in 2009, to which the EFN contributed, the European Parliament will launch, on 17 May 2010, a written Declaration on the EU Workforce for Health, fully supported by 6 million nurses in the EU and Europe, calling the European Commission and the EU Member States to join action and efforts in establishing effective and sustainable recruitment and retention strategies in the health sector.
Spring EFN General Assembly, 15-16 April 2010
(20/04/2010)
The Romanian Nurses Association, Member of EFN, kindly hosted the successful 92nd EFN General Assembly, where the members discussed important issues for the EFN lobby work to the EU Institutions and other EU health stakeholders, such as: Directive 36 - The EFN Members shared their national experiences on “Nursing Education – DIR36”, and provided their views on the challenges in opening DIR36 and changing the annexe instead of opening the directive; EU Workforce for Health; Sharp Injuries and the upcoming EU Summit organised on 1-2 June 2010, in Madrid - Spain, by the Spanish General Council of Nursing, an EFN member, with the support of the Spanish EU Presidency; European Nursing Research – The EFN members were informed on the main conclusions of the discussions of the working group on the survey entitled "Nursing Research in Europe: reaching a consensus on strategic priorities” developed by EFN members (Germany, Portugal & UK) and adopted the EFN Policy & Position Declarations on this issue; EUNetPaS EU Project WP2 (Education and Training) Patient Safety Education guidelines, and WP1 (Patient Safety Culture) Patient Safety Culture Indicators (PSCI) catalogue and recommendations; as well as the review of EFN Constitution to fit future challenges within the nursing community. The next EFN General Assembly will take place in Brussels on 28-29 October 2010.
Polish Nurses Association - Janina Fetlinska death
(12/04/2010)
It is with great sadness that the EFN learned the death of Ms. Janina Fetlinska, nurse, Senator of the Republic of Poland since 2005, and the well-deserved member of the Polish Nurses Association, in the presidential plane crash of 10 April 2010, in Smolensk, Russia. On behalf of all EFN members, the EFN takes this opportunity to express our profound condolences to her family, friends and colleagues at this difficult time.
The European Commission Global Health Strategy
(06/04/2010)
The EFN welcomes the new EU policy framework on Global Health aiming at promoting the right to health and better addressing global health challenges. The proposals for an EU response to the four challenges are: enhancing global governance on health; progressing towards universal health coverage; ensuring better coherence of EU internal and external policies in relation to global health; and increasing Global health knowledge. A number of nurses’ organisations in Europe are working in partnership with colleagues in the developing world to strengthen civil society organisations, and advocate for health improvements and for the health workforce needed to deliver on the ground. The Norwegian Nurses Organisation will be contributing its rich experience in the field in Malawi, Zambia, and Uganda to the European Commission's major conference on global health in June, on behalf of the European Federation of Nurses Associations, and work with other national nursing organisations, including the Royal College of Nursing UK, in Europe to help shape the EU's strategic direction in global health.
Health First Europe Event “EU legislation to reduce injuries for healthcare workers” (24/03/2010)
Two EFN members, Dr. Maximo Gonzales Jurado, from the Spanish General Council of Nursing, and Ms. Annette Kennedy, from the Irish Nurses Organisation and former EFN President, participated in the Health First Europe event, hosted by MEP Liz Lynne, in the European Parliament, on 23 March 2010, to celebrate the newly adopted EU legislation to reduce injuries for healthcare workers. The strong support for a campaign for the prevention of occupational needlestick and other medical sharps injuries, that has been led for more than 5 years by MEP's Liz Lynne and Stephen Hughes, as well as former MEP John Bowis, and the commitment and dedication of EFN members - Maximo Jurado and Annette Kennedy were present in 2004-2005 starting the political process to prevent sharp injuries - has finally resulted in the adoption of an EU Directive to protect Europe's healthcare workers from potentially fatal blood-borne infections such as HIV and Hepatitis B and C, resulting from injuries with used needles. The EFN welcomes the adoption of the Directive, as a demonstration of the positive practical impact of the European Union. As a follow-up, the Spanish General Council of Nursing is organising an EU Summit on Sharps Injuries on 1-2 June 2010, supported by the Spanish EU Presidency, focusing specifically on the way to implement the Directive at national, regional and local level.
DIR 36 Infringement - The Luxembourg Case (02/03/2010)
After years of negotiations, and a complaint from the Luxembourg National Nurses’ Association (ANIL), a members of EFN, to the European Commission for non compliance with Directive 2005/36/EC, the Luxembourg Government decided to increase the training of nurses from three to four years of study and the theoretical hours with 10%, in order to fulfil the provisions of Directive 2005/36/EC, in particular as regards the 4.600 hours of theoretical and clinical training.
3rd Congress of Military Nurses (22/02/2010)
The EFN participated in the 3rd Congress of the Military Nurses, organised on 19-20 February 2010, in Athens, Greece. Invited to make a presentation on “EFN Priorities & Challenges”, the EFN General Secretary focussed on DIR36, EU Workforce for health, and quality and safety, as well as the EU enlargement process and the importance of nurses in the process of peace, freedom and human rights. Exchanging best practices on nurses’ contribution to peace is of enormous importance in the development of the European map of social and Health Policies. Mr. De Raeve stressed that “As the free movement of persons is one of the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the European Treaty, we need to make sure that EU standards in care, standards in education and standards in health outcomes are met at EU level and for sure not watered down.” Finally, the EFN General Secretary met with the Hellenic Nurses Association, a member of EFN, to explore views on how the EFN can support alliance development between different Greek nursing communities.
EUNetPaS Coordination Meeting, Athens (04/02/2010)
Participating in the EUNetPaS coordination meeting held in Athens, Greece, on 29 January 2010, the EFN presented the work done by the EFN and its members on using Social Cohesion Funds to invest in the training of Europe’s nurses. Taking WP2 Education guidelines as a starting point, where the guidelines are referred to as a tool to turn paper into practice, and considering the emphasis the European Commission DG Employment and DG Sanco are placing on utilising structural funds to advance the skills of the workforce under the Lisbon strategy for growth and employment, links between the Social Cohesion Funds (SCF), the Commission, and EUNetPaS become apparent and should be explored. The EFN is inspired by the success of its members in this field, such as Poland receiving over 40million Euros from the SCF to invest in advancing the training of 36.000 nurses, and so invites EUNetPaS to turn the deliverables of the project into reality and join the EFN in its efforts to make a positive impact on the daily working lives of 6 million nurses in Europe.
Spanish presidency 'committed' to working with EU parliament (01/02/2010)
Participating in the Spanish EU Presidency Reception organised by ‘The Parliament Magazine’ in the European parliament to welcome MEPs back to work, Spain's Foreign Affairs Minister, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, promised to work closely with MEPs in bringing about Europe's economic recovery, to make a stronger EU with more credibility, in order to bring people closer to Europe, and put the Lisbon Treaty into motion. The EFN took this opportunity to raise some nursing concerns to the MEPs and EU stakeholders present in the reception.
EFN Executive Committee meeting, 14 January 2010, Brussels (15/01/2010)
The EFN Executive Committee met on 14 January 2010, in the EFN Brussels Office, for their first meeting of the year, to discuss important issues related to EFN and EFN lobby process within the European arena and to reflect on the challenges and opportunities 2010 brings with the appointment of the new Commission. A very interesting discussion took place with DG Internal Market on DIR36 and the work related to the implementation and the evaluation report by 2012. The Executive Committee was, then, briefed on the outcomes of the first meeting of the EFN Constitutional working Group and amendments to the proposed terms of reference - endorsed by the Executive Committee. Finally, the Executive Committee approved the EFN Policy and Position Statements on Nursing Research, and the EFN Activity Report 2009.
The EFN wishes you all a Merry Christmas
& a Happy New Year
In lieu of sending greeting cards, EFN made a donation to the Girl Child Education Fund of the International Council of Nurses, which supports the primary and secondary schooling of the orphaned daughters of nurses in developing countries. To find out more about the Girl Child Education Fund, please visit http://www.fnif.org/girlfund.htm.
