Author: Anila Dushi | Citizens Channel | Shkoder
The departure of Albanians to other countries, mainly for economic reasons, is a growing phenomenon that has also involved the health system. Many doctors and nurses have left for EU countries, even in the Shkodra Regional Hospital, the only one that covers the entire north of Albania. Sources from this hospital claim that there are many who left for other countries, mainly Germany.
"During 2019 alone, about 10 doctors and 38 nurses left Albania from this hospital, while there are others who are in the process as there are several procedures that must be passed in order to gain the right to work in Germany, mainly German language levels" the head nurse of this hospital, Paolo Kaceri, also head of the Nurses' Union for the Shkodra region, tells Citizens Channel.
According to Kaceri, there are others who are in the process of leaving but the procedures are currently slowed down or interrupted due to the situation created by Covid-19 everywhere in the world. The average age of those who left is 30-35 years old, but there are also doctors over 50 who have left. The medical staff left belongs to all the wards of the hospital, but the most are those of emergency, re-amination, pathology, emergency operating room, etc.
Such are cardiologist Artin Kica, 52 years old, emergency physician Sehar Baraku, pathologists (general) or nurses such as Moistion Belinovi, Fatjon Lezha, Renato Rasha, Xheladin Shkreli, etc.
"These have been fully integrated where they have gone since their work experience has meant that they do not need a single day of training but are treated the same as the health personnel there, starting work immediately". adds Kaceri.
The dismissed nurses have been replaced by others through the "Nurses for Albania" portal, an initiative introduced by the Ministry of Health in 2018 to increase transparency in employment procedures.
Chronic patients in this hospital who receive hospital services constantly state that there are nurses, especially these recent arrivals who present problems.
Selami Xhema, chronically ill from the city of Shkodra, says: "I am hospitalized 3-4 times a year because I need medical services that cannot be done at home. There are nurses who don't know how to find the vein for injections and have to pierce three doors four times and find it with great difficulty. Not that they don't want to, but they don't know. There have been nurses who have now gone to Germany who found the vein the first time by not torturing the patient any more. The good ones are gone.”
Another chronic pathology patient, Drita Hasani, says that she spent three weeks in Shkodra's hospital sick after having an operation and was faced with poor quality medical services. "The nurses, three of them, couldn't give me the serum because they couldn't find the vein, they had to call an older one who found it immediately. And when the vet was put in, my place got infected because the nurses in the room didn't know how to do the job properly. Last year I was hospitalized for 2 weeks, before I was operated on, but the room nurse was capable and I had no problems. When I was re-admitted to the hospital, I asked about him and they said he is no longer there as he ran away and started working in Germany. Of course, he didn't mind that he was capable."
While another patient, Gëzim Guri, adds that young nurses do not know how to use the equipment and others should be called. "I had a seriously ill father and the appropriate monitor had to be placed, but the nurse didn't know, he called another one and he couldn't place it. The doctor and another experienced nurse had to be called to set it up. This happens because qualified nurses have left and those who have replaced them need time to train and learn as they have no work experience".
Chief nurse Paolo Kaceri says that the runaways have left a void: "There is a lack of training for the young people who replace them, they have no work experience, they only have a school diploma. This causes new nurses to be duplicated by more experienced ones and this directly affects the quality of service as it takes time away from other patients and this is to the detriment of patients. There are dozens of nurses in the Shkodra hospital who are in the process of leaving Albania and being employed abroad. I am convinced that if there were easier procedures, they would all run away".
There are several reasons for the departure of qualified medical personnel, mainly economic but not only. Regarding this, Kaceri states that apart from the economic side, the reasons for leaving are also related to working conditions, protection at work, disrespect for the image.
"There are many cases where medical personnel are insulted or even raped. There are those who walk rightly, there are those who follow the wrong path, but they should not all be included in one group. It is an inappropriate work climate, and there is a lack of respect even among colleagues. Working conditions leave much to be desired. The main one remains the economic side".
In 2019 alone, there were 8 documented cases of violence against white shirts in the hospital of Shkodra, but sources close to this institution show that there are many other cases that are resolved privately with the mediation of other persons, add here the cases where the denunciations are withdrawn.
The salaries of ordinary nurses in the hospital of Shkodra are 33000-37000 new lek per month, while in various departments it goes up to 41000 thousand new lek.
For head nurse Kaeri, the difference with counterparts abroad is huge: "according to what the emigrants told us, it costs 2600-2800 euros per month. Add here the fact that they have a certain number of sick people there, the staff is organized and everyone does their job and you are protected at work. Here, the nurse often has to do the work of the sanitarian or carry the stretcher where the patient is placed. This does not happen there, concludes Kaceri."
