Difficult search for nurses abroad
Bless you
The acute shortage of nurses cannot be solved in the short term with guest workers from countries such as Vietnam, the Philippines or China, warns the Salzburg relief organization. It takes years of preparatory work before nurses from abroad can work in Austria.
In mid-September, Anja Hagenauer, Salzburg’s SPÖ councilor for social welfare, demanded a targeted search for nurses in countries such as Vietnam, the Philippines and China. That is one of 13 points to get the nursing emergency under control. The aim is to alleviate the shortage of personnel in nursing. But it’s not that easy, countered Hermann Hagleitner, managing director of the Salzburg relief organization.
Years of preparatory work abroad are necessary
Like many other care services, he is also urgently looking for new staff. Recruiting appropriate reinforcements abroad, however, is associated with a lot of work.
Hermann Hagleitner cited Germany as an example. The neighboring country is actively looking for nurses in Mexico or Albania. “Germany employs large agencies with a lot of money abroad so that this can succeed. It will take years until we have even partially implemented something like this in Austria or have caught up, and we cannot wait for that, ”added Hagleitner.
In view of the urgent shortage of staff, the managing director would need to expand nursing training in Salzburg. On the one hand, more courses for nursing assistants are needed. And on the other hand, female assistants must be given the opportunity to train to become skilled workers while they are on duty.