GENEVA, March 11, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – At least 3,000 nurses have been killed
by Covid-19, the global nurses’ federation said Thursday as it warned of a
looming exodus of health workers traumatised by the pandemic.
Exactly one year on since the World Health Organization (WHO) first
described Covid-19 as a pandemic, the International Council of Nurses said
burn-out and stress had led millions of nurses to consider quitting the
profession.
And once the pandemic is over, a dwindling number of experienced nurses
could be left to handle the giant backlog of regular hospital care that had
been postponed due to the crisis, the ICN warned.
The known death toll of nurses killed by the disease — compiled from just
60 countries — is likely to be a gross underestimate of the full total, the
federation said.
ICN chief executive Howard Catton said nurses had gone through “mass
traumatisation” during the pandemic, being pushed to physical and mental
exhaustion.
“They reach a point where they’ve given everything they can,” he told
reporters.
Catton said the global workforce of 27 million nurses was six million
short going into the pandemic — and four million were heading for retirement
by 2030.
– ‘On a precipice’ –
In a report, the ICN said the pandemic “could trigger a mass exodus from
the profession”, from as early as the second half of 2021. The global nurse
shortage could widen to nearly 13 million, it added.
“We could be on a precipice,” said Catton, recalling that it took three to
four years of training to produce a novice nurse.
He said nurses had done a “phenomenal” job “to lead the world through this
pandemic”, saying they would share an equal platform with the vaccine
creators in the eventual history of Covid-19.
But once the pandemic has passed, frazzled nurses will then have to deal
with all the unmet healthcare needs and waiting lists, whilst also facing
likely staff shortages.
Founded in 1899, the ICN is a federation of more than 130 national nursing
associations.
It called for governments to invest in training more new nurses to address
the global shortage.
It also called for better pay to encourage existing staff to stay on — to
bolster health systems for future crises, if nothing else.
– Vaccination call –
The WHO wants to see healthcare workers in all countries being vaccinated
within the first 100 days of 2021.
Catton said that was the start line rather than the finish line, and
voiced “grave concerns” at the unequal distribution of vaccines between rich
and poor countries.
For nurses, facing an elevated risk of infection, immunisation “is about
their right to being protected at work,” he said.
“Not being protected at work adds to their distress.”
Recalling the public appreciation shown towards nurses in the early stages
of the pandemic, Catton said that now, “overwhelmingly, nurses would rather
be getting their vaccine than a round of applause”.
The ICN strongly recommended that all nurses take a Covid-19 jab.
“It is an issue of protection and safety for patients,” Catton said.
“If somebody doesn’t have the vaccine then it may well be that you have to
look at redeploying them to other areas.”