Nurse assistant, the new hybrid figure (halfway between OSS and nurse) appearing in hospitals: it is controversial

There is controversy over the introduction of the new figure ofnurse’s aide. Despite a collection of signatures with thousands of signatures and the very critical opinion expressed by the international community, which appealed to the institutions for a change of direction, theA Nursing Assistant is coming to the wards of the public and private facilities. The nurses they are afraid of the new picture, “hybrid” which according to the unions does not guarantee safety for which, they say, serves as a more extensive training, necessary to get your hands on patients. Antonio De Palma, President of Nursing Up, and Walter De Caro, President of CNAI (National Association of Nurses Associations) explain it. Nurses are ready to protest against the new figure which was given the green light at the Conference of State Areas this week. “The Government and the Departments have taken into account the negative opinions of national and international experts including the European Federation of Nurses (EFN)”. The new figure with 500 hours of training, to give examples, will be able to intervene on the patient for medicines, injections and also to use the oro-tracheal tube.«with the resulting risks» explains De Palma.

Nurse assistant, the new figure halfway between OSS and nurse starts in hospitals: it is controversial

In addition to the petition, on 20 November nurses will take to the streets to protest alongside doctors for what has happened to the National Health Service. The main pressing issues raised by the scientific community include the training of Nursing Assistants which may not be rigorous enough, affecting the quality of care and patient safety and the lack of appropriate knowledge and skills to ‘ may increase the risk of clinical errors. The new figure, halfway between a nurse and a social health worker, will be able to work in public and private healthcare. In fact, the order explains, he « will be an OSS certified operator who has followed another training course obtaining a nurse’s aide certificate”. His work will be “collaborate with nurses ensuring health care activities as well as performing the tasks typical of the profile of a social health care worker».

And the goal, as stated in the act itself, serves “the general need to respond in a different way to the health needs of the growing population”. In addition, today there is a shortage of nurses in Italy of at least 65,000 units, according to the Court of Auditors, but in the next ten years at least four times as many professionals will retire after reaching the age limit compared to the previous decade.

Italy is the OECD country with the fewest number of nurses per 1,000 inhabitants: 6.4 against the European average of 9.5 and is at the bottom (again in the OECD) for nursing graduates per 100,000 inhabitants: only 17 against an average of 48. The order on the Nursing Assistant, in the opinion of the unions it also serves to avoid expected investments but, they explain, “authoritative studies show that mortality is reduced by 30% when at least 60% of carers have specialist nursing training”.