The Minister of Health and Consumer Affairs, Rocío Hernández, appeared before a parliamentary committee to highlight her department’s commitment to Nursing, a group that she considers «one of the fundamental pillars of our public health system.» Hernández emphasized that «the professionalism, care, dedication, and attention to detail that they give to each and every patient in various consultations and care settings are virtues that dignify our public system and give it a special value of which we should be proud.»
The minister underscored the Andalusian Government’s commitment to stabilizing employment and improving the working conditions of these professionals. She provided a key statistic that «attests to this Government’s support for the work of Nursing professionals: more than 37,700 average staff of this category work in the public health system of Andalusia, 8,500 more than in 2018, of which 7,341 are permanent additions structurally integrated into the SAS staff.» In this regard, she stressed that «never before have so many nursing professionals worked in the public system, and never before has there been such labor stability.»
Hernández detailed the reinforcements in different nursing specialties: 102 case management nurses in senior centers, 44 advanced practice nurses in diabetes, 36 for the management of chronic wounds, 32 in ostomies, 43 in oncology, 411 in family and community nursing, and another 411 serving in educational centers. These increases have contributed to Andalusia improving «several statistical indicators of healthcare convergence in which our region was lagging behind,» according to a report from the Ministry of Health.
The minister also outlined improvements in working conditions, such as the increase in remuneration for additional hours and on-call duty, so, in the case of Primary Care nurses, these increases reach 24.61% on weekdays; 22.61% on weekends and holidays, and 24.61% on special holidays. Additionally, a €150 increase in supplements for all A2 healthcare staff in hospitals and the value of Age-Adjusted Cards (AAC) for Primary Care staff has been adjusted.
Furthermore, thanks to the Professional Career model in Andalusia, «one of the most demanding and advanced in the country,» the earnings for nursing professionals have increased by over €4,600 annually for Primary Care and over €3,700 annually for hospital care since 2018. The Government Council has approved a budget modification to increase the allocation of the Professional Performance Supplement (Productivity) by almost €18 million, benefiting 120,524 professionals, 5,000 more than in 2023.
Regarding job stability, a top priority of the Government, Rocío Hernández reported that «three-quarters of the temporary nursing staff at the Andalusian Health Service have long-term contracts.» To further reduce temporality, the Public Employment Offers for 2022, 2023, and 2024 have been called, with Nursing exams held on May 17th. This will enable the stabilization of 6,267 nurses from various specialties and care levels, who «will have a permanent position in the SAS staff,» she stated.
Finally, the minister addressed the reform of the Employment Pool. The current model, with almost 20 years of history, «cannot meet the current needs of Andalusia and presents a series of inherited problems that ultimately affect professionals.»
The new system that will be proposed will «streamline hiring, incorporate newly graduated specialists, automate processes and simplify criteria, improve legal certainty and equity, and adapt the system to the digital and healthcare reality.» In essence, it advocates for «a more agile, fair, transparent, efficient, reliable, and less discretionary model, more linked to the current healthcare needs of Andalusia, with a greater emphasis on professional merits (at least 85%).» The first step was taken in November of last year with the permanent opening of the Electronic Window for the Nursing Employment Pool, which has allowed for the scoring of 11 million merits from 183,328 job seekers.
