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HOSPEEM NEWS
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EDITORIAL
On 23 and 24 May, Hospital and Healthcare Employers’ Associations, Trade Unions, international stakeholders and experts explored best practices in the field of Occupational Safety and Health, focusing on prevention and reduction of Musculoskeletal Disorders and Psychosocial Risks and Stress at Work in Vilnius, Lithuania. The conference brought together more than 100 participants from 17 EU Member States and 2 non-EU countries within the framework of the HOSPEEM-EPSU project on Recruitment and Retention of health professionals.
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The conference provided a forum for exchange on a number of social partner-based initiatives presented by HOSPEEM members and EPSU affiliates from Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom. HOSPEEM and EPSU were honoured by the presence of Dr. Vytenis Andriukaitis, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, DG SANTE who referred to their relevant initiatives on patient safety and the health workforce, calling for a continued cooperation and exchange with EPSU and HOSPEEM. The media release, the presentations and all the relevant materials are available online.
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This newsletter has been conceived as interactive tools to facilitate the flow of communication from the EU level, to support the exchange of information between our members and to give your organisation’s voice a broader diffusion across Europe. Therefore, you are invited to send us your contributions for future issues.
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I wish you a pleasant summer break,
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Tjitte Alkema Secretary General of HOSPEEM
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HOSPEEM NEWS
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HOSPEEM held its General Assembly meeting on 20 June. Jeroen Jutte, Head of Unit, Employment and Social Aspects of European Semester, DG EMPL gave a presentation on the Country Specific Recommendations, with a focus on the health sector. HOSPEEM members discussed the Secretariat’s activities, such as upcoming study visits and the first outcome of the member priority survey. The HOSPEEM-EPSU Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee Working Group took place on 21 June. Participants reflected on the last Social Partners’ Conference that took place in Vilnius on 23-24 May 2018. Furthermore, the draft report of the medical Sharps survey was presented and discussed by national Social Partners.
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External speakers included Elbereth Puts, ICF, who presented the Movement of skilled labour in the health sector case study report and Karolina Socha-Dietrich, OECD Health Division who provided insight in the “Feasibility Study on Health workforce skills assessment”. A workshop was given by Barbara Bechter and Manuela Galetto on “Social Partner Engagement and Effectiveness in European Dialogue in the hospital sector”.
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HOSPEEM visited its Lithuanian member organisation Lithuanian National Association of Healthcare Organizations (NAHCO) on 25 May 2018 in Vilnius. HOSPEEM had the opportunity to visit the Lithuanian Parliament and one hospital, a member of NAHCO, the Republican Vilnius University Hospital in Vilnius.
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The Secretary General was invited to attend the Confed18 Event in Manchester, where he met with Niall Dickson, Chief Executive of NHS Confederation, Layla McCay, International Relations Director of NHS Confederation and Daniel Mortimer, Chief Executive of NHS Employers.
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Among others, they discussed health workforce shortages, the need for Member States to strive for self-sufficiency but also the free movement of workers and Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications in light of Brexit. Furthermore, the Secretary General highlighted the importance of the NHS Confederation to remain an active part of HOSPEEM post-Brexit.
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The project ‘Krachtige Minoren’ was initiated in 2017 by the Dutch Hospital Association (NVZ) in the Netherlands. The aim of the project is to create a better connection between initial education and professional practice by promoting and establishing minors during bachelor education which are missing from the national educational system.
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These minors can minimize the gap between the initial and post-graduate education. They are designed to fit seamlessly into the specialist education tracks (e.g. the educational track for ICU or ER nurse) and are the new nationally available ‘golden standard’ in educating hospital nurses.
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Not only there is a better connection between the initial education and practice, but also, they stimulate regional agreements on internships in quantity and quality.
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Inspired by the 2015 Vancouver Statement in Canada, FEHAP has started a project in 2017 in France which aim at developing the active involvement of patients in the education of health and social care professionals (the "Paris Declaration" initiative).
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For example, best practices examples have shown positive results when patients are fully involved as a course designer, training course trainer or peer-based trainer. Research in the US, Australia, Canada and the UK has shown that patient involvement supports the development of essential skills such as communication, clinical reasoning or professional attitude. However patient involvement is usually not embedded in the mainstream of educational practice in many countries. Therefore, FEHAP has developed and promoted the collaboration with patients in education, engaging institutional, educational and political stakeholders in the process with a multi-stakeholder event that took place on 14 June 2018 at the Ministry of Health in Paris.
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EU NEWS
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EU Member States have reached an agreement on three legislative files which are a cornerstone of building a stronger social Europe: the revision of the rules governing social security coordination, a new work-life balance directive and a directive on transparent and predictable working conditions.
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The European Commission released its proposals for a renewed European Social Fund and the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+). The European Social Fund Plus will be a more flexible and simpler version of the current European Social Fund by merging a number of existing funds and programmes.
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Employment and Social Affairs Committee MEPs unanimously adopted in June a set of measures they believe the European Commission and member states should work on in order to retain and reintegrate workers into the workplace who suffer from various chronic conditions or injuries and foster active ageing.
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The aim of this legislative resolution is to establish rules for proportionality assessments to be conducted by Member States before the introduction of new, or the amendment of existing, professional regulations.
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The European Commission opened a call for proposal on supporting the social dialogue. The deadline for submitting a proposal is 25/09/2018.
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ATTENDED EVENTS
13-14/06/2018: Confed18, organised by NHS Confederation, Manchester
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FUTURE EVENTS
- 13/11/2018: HOSPEEM Steering Committee/General Assembly, Brussels
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- 12/11/2018: Sectoral Social Dialogue Plenary Meeting 2018, Brussels
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PUBLICATIONS
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The European Commission presented Country-Specific Recommendations (CSRs), along with an overarching Communication. The recommendations focus on what can realistically be achieved over the next 12-18 months. The recommendations are discussed among the governments in the European Council, endorsed by EU leaders at a summit in June and formally adopted by the national finance ministers in July 2018.
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If you are you a member of a social partner organisation and would like to access the latest news and events from the European Commission and EU agencies in the field of employment and social dialogue, you can find all this information in the Social Dialogue Newsletter.
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Among others, the report highlights self-assessed shortcomings in social partners’ capacity to be involved in European Semester and Social Dialogue process. On the employers’ side, key factors mentioned are the fragmentation of associations and chambers and uneven representation at sectoral and territorial level.
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The two final BARSOP reports have been published by the University of Amsterdam (Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies). Part I focuses on industrial relations and the quantity and quality of jobs in the public sector in Europe: the crisis and beyond; and the Part II on European Sector-Level Social Dialogue in the Public Sector. A section on the hospital sector can be found on page 5. Country reports can be downloaded on the dedicated website here.
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In this annual report, EU-OSHA highlights The Healthy Workplaces for All Ages campaign, which came to a close in 2017 and in which HOSPEEM was an official campaign partner. The report is in English and the summary is available in all language versions.
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