Be like Nina
On 10 May, to mark Nurses' Day, a round table organised by Be like Nina medical movement was held in Kyiv. It was an opportunity for military and civilian doctors to share their problems and their visions of how to solve them.
For example, a hospital representative spoke of the dedication of volunteer doctors at the front, while emphasising that the provision of care is sometimes inadequate. Combat medics also spoke at length about the particularities of tactical medicine, which needs to be studied separately. As for their civilian colleagues, they stressed that such training would be more appropriate as part of training and refresher courses than in the programme they are currently following.
For their part, nursery and school nurses have raised the issue of the difference in pay between health professionals working in educational establishments. In the case of the Lviv region, doctors have managed to obtain a pay rise thanks to various bonuses. However, this salary is not very different from the minimum wage and does not reach the 13,500 hryvnias guaranteed to all nurses.
Medrukh's lawyer and the Social Movement activist pointed out that this difference in pay is a violation of international standards guaranteeing equal pay for equal work. The same applies to Resolution 83, which authorises hospital administrations to reduce staff salaries if they consider that costs are too high.
Doctors have also raised the issue of certification for dangerous jobs, as this may mean that they will not receive a sufficient pension. And the workload for nurses is increasing all the time, as inadequate working conditions encourage people to leave medicine. On the other hand, the state is not introducing guaranteed, adequate salaries that would encourage more doctors to work.
In the end, the participants noted that until now, Ukrainian civil and military medicine has been based on the dedication and sacrifice of doctors. However, the State must take systemic decisions not only to improve this field, which is essential for people's lives and health, but also for future victory and sustainable development.
