Many nurses are furious over legislation, passed last Saturday, which banned the ongoing nurses’ strike. Many have already resigned and many more have threatened to follow suit. The Chief nursing officer at Landspítalinn, The National University Hospital, fears that the health care system will not survive mass resignations by nurses: “The Icelandic health care system will collapse in such a scenario.”
Legislation to ensure patients' safety or humiliate nurses?
On Saturday parliament approved legislation proposed by the government, ending the ten week long strike by BHM, the Association of Academics and the Icelandic Nurses’ Association. The Minister of Health, told local newspaper Fréttablaðið that the strike had to be ended to ensure the safety of patients.
Þórunn Sveinbjarnardóttir, the chairman of BHM rejects these arguments in an interview with the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service, RÚV. She pointed out that the union had granted exceptions from the strike in the case of medical emergencies, ensuring that patients’ safety would not be jeopardized. Þórunn adds that many nurses are angry, feeling the legislation is a deliberate attempt to humiliate them, concluding that “it is never a good to humiliate others when interacting with others.”
Anger and frustration among nurses
Nurses RÚV spoke with expressed anger and frustration over the legislation, arguing they felt compelled to resign. A nurse, who has worked at the cardiothoracic unit for 24 years explained why she is resigning: “We feel that by passing this legislation government is sending us the finger, showing their disrespect for our work and our education.” Other nurses RÚV spoke with said they are considering moving abroad to look for better paying jobs. Many are considering Scandinavia, where there is great demand for nurses, and their pay is significantly higher than in Iceland.
According to reports half of all nurses at the cardiothoracic unit have already resigned, a whole shift of nurses at the intensive care unit have resigned, and many more have announced they will hand in their resignations. Sigríður Gunnarsdóttir, the chief nursing officer at Landspítalinn , also tells RÚV that it is unlikely that nurses will agree to work overtime hours to help reduce the waiting lists which have grown dramatically during the strike.
Many nurses are furious over legislation, passed last Saturday, which banned the ongoing nurses’ strike. Many have already resigned and many more have threatened to follow suit. The Chief nursing officer at Landspítalinn, The National University Hospital, fears that the health care system will not survive mass resignations by nurses: “The Icelandic health care system will collapse in such a scenario.”
Legislation to ensure patients' safety or humiliate nurses?
On Saturday parliament approved legislation proposed by the government, ending the ten week long strike by BHM, the Association of Academics and the Icelandic Nurses’ Association. The Minister of Health, told local newspaper Fréttablaðið that the strike had to be ended to ensure the safety of patients.
Þórunn Sveinbjarnardóttir, the chairman of BHM rejects these arguments in an interview with the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service, RÚV. She pointed out that the union had granted exceptions from the strike in the case of medical emergencies, ensuring that patients’ safety would not be jeopardized. Þórunn adds that many nurses are angry, feeling the legislation is a deliberate attempt to humiliate them, concluding that “it is never a good to humiliate others when interacting with others.”
Anger and frustration among nurses
Nurses RÚV spoke with expressed anger and frustration over the legislation, arguing they felt compelled to resign. A nurse, who has worked at the cardiothoracic unit for 24 years explained why she is resigning: “We feel that by passing this legislation government is sending us the finger, showing their disrespect for our work and our education.” Other nurses RÚV spoke with said they are considering moving abroad to look for better paying jobs. Many are considering Scandinavia, where there is great demand for nurses, and their pay is significantly higher than in Iceland.
According to reports half of all nurses at the cardiothoracic unit have already resigned, a whole shift of nurses at the intensive care unit have resigned, and many more have announced they will hand in their resignations. Sigríður Gunnarsdóttir, the chief nursing officer at Landspítalinn , also tells RÚV that it is unlikely that nurses will agree to work overtime hours to help reduce the waiting lists which have grown dramatically during the strike.
