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'Tired and overloaded': historic shortage of nurses in Malaga province

Nurses are dealing with the extra demands of the coronavirus crisis.
Nurses are dealing with the extra demands of the coronavirus crisis. / EFE

  • Andalusian provinces occupy the bottom two places for nurses per thousand inhabitants in Spain, claims nursing union

  • ALBERTO GóMEZ

Nursing professionals in Malaga province are being overwhelmed, not only by dealing with the extra demands of the coronavirus crisis, but also by a historic shortage of workers, it is claimed.

The president of the College of Nursing, José Miguel Carrasco, estimates a shortage of 1,500 workers in the province. But the nursing union (Satse) raises the figure to 4,000, claiming that Malaga is the second province with the worst ratio of nurses per thousand inhabitants.

The union says that Malaga has only 3.29 compared to the Spanish average of 5.3 of the Spanish average. Only Granada, with 3.26, registers worse data than Malaga, far from the more than eight nurses for every thousand people in Navarra, the province with the highest coverage.

Juan José Sánchez, the Malaga provincial secretary of Satse, warns "we are tired and overloaded”.

The president of the College of Nursing, José Miguel Carrasco, explains, “Salaries are low and contracts are short and with high variability. That is, they call you at two o'clock so you can come to work at three.”

“These conditions have caused our professionals to emigrate abroad and to other autonomous communities. Each region offers different contracts - Asturias is offering three-year contracts while Andalucía offers fifteen days," he claims.

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