Hospitals: lives and health are at risk

The Faroese Hospital Service has just issued the following press release:

"The hospital system has come under immense pressure now that the National Union of Nurses will start charging for strike exceptions to the emergency response services during the nurse strike.

The Union informed the Hospital Service earlier today that all exceptions granted from 4pm today onwards will be charged at DKK 200 per member [on strike] per hour, a charge which the union aims to spend on covering strike-related expenses.

Based on the current strike situation, this will amount to a daily amount of DKK 80,000.

 >> SEE ALSO Nurse strike extends to emergency call service

Since the Hospital Service is not authorised to pay these charges as compensation for strike exceptions to the emergency response service, approximately 15 hospital public servants have now been called in for service.

This is entirely unacceptable and unsafe as the public servants are being forced to work on tasks of which they have no experience.

Lives and health now at risk

This puts the lives and health of hospital patients at risk, and the Hospital Service management can no longer accept the ongoing passivity surrounding this situation.

We therefore urgently call on the opposing parties in the strike to resume talks or, failing that, for the political system to step in.

It is unheard of for a modern society to end up in such an unsafe and indefensible situation.

To avoid repeats of situations like this every time contract talks take place, it is absolutely crucial that emergency response services are included in the contract to ensure that the Hospital Service and its patients never have to endure such situations again.”

In response to this announcement, the General Practitioners' Association is advising the public only to contact their GP in urgent cases.

Translated by prosa.fo