Nurse on clinic strike in Berlin: “We give up to be there for others”
interview
Clinic strike in Berlin
“We give up to be there for others”: A nurse explains why she had to go on strike as a last resort
Employees of the state-owned Berlin clinics have been on strike for a month. The carer Carolin Puschke is one of them. In the interview she talks about the reasons. You: “We don’t need any more clapping. We need concrete remedial action.”
Ms. Puschke, Berlin clinic employees from Charité, Vivantes and the Vivantes subsidiaries have been on strike since September 9 for better working conditions and more staff. You are one of them. Has it personally made you stop working?
The current working conditions, in my opinion, are no longer sustainable. Not for me, not for my colleagues, but also for the patients we care for.
You work as a health and nurse in the psychiatric field. What are the biggest problems in everyday clinical practice?
We are not staffed enough and have hardly any time for patients and patients. This is a big problem in many hospital wards, but it poses particular challenges, especially in the psychiatric area. We care about people with severe depression and about people in situations. Many of them can no longer do even the smallest everyday tasks independently or pose a threat to themselves or to them. We caregivers are contact persons, companions and confidants. We need time for the therapies and sometimes we have to be able to listen in order to experience the worries and needs of our patients and to be able to respond to them. Unfortunately we hardly have this time.
Little time on the one hand and patients and patients with many different needs on the other – how do YOU manage this balancing act in everyday life?
We only manage the bare minimum. But the bare minimum is not enough for us. We want to care – as we have learned to do. Of course, we ensure the safety of patients and patients on our ward. But our safety goes down the drain. In a sense, we give up ourselves to be there for others. And this stress is in the bones, every day.
Was you calling?
Better working conditions, relief in the form of more staff and a tariff adjustment for employees of the Vivantes subsidiaries. It is positive that we are currently in negotiations, but they are going very slowly. From my point of view, there has been little accommodation recently, but we are now working very specifically to achieve the best possible solution for everyone – nurses, therapists and trainees. All trades are important and need good working conditions in order to do what we ultimately love to do best: good care.
The problems in care have not only existed since the corona pandemic. At the same time, many employees find it difficult to organize themselves in unions and to campaign for better working conditions. What do you think: why is that?
There are many questions, for example about financing during the strike period or whether there are any possible consequences under labor law. But you have to be very clear: strike is a fundamental right. It is also important to me to emphasize that we do this for everyone – including our colleagues who are not on the street with us.
Some outsiders ask themselves: Are caregivers even allowed to strike? What about the patients and patients?
The normal state endangers patient safety. For our part, we have drawn up an emergency service agreement and some of our colleagues from the strike have been assigned to ward duty in order to guarantee supplies. We only strike because we have to. Because otherwise we are unfortunately not listened to. It should be said that we had made demands 100 days in advance and offered talks. The strike was not a surprise either, but at the end of the expression that it is important to finally improve working conditions. We don’t need any more clapping. We need concrete remedial action.
A demonstration is planned for October 9th, starting at 12 noon at Hermannplatz in Berlin. What are you hoping for?
We look forward to exchanges and support from the population. It would be great if as many as possible came. At some point in life everyone comes to the point where they need help and care, sooner or later. Now we need help.