Category: Events

HOSPEEMNewsEvents
Events, News Hospeem

HOSPEEM participates at the high-level conference “Mental Health and Work” organised by the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union

On 30 and 31 January 2024, the Belgian Presidency of the Council of EU organised its high–level conference on mental health and work to bring attention to the challenges related to the attrition of mental health in European Workplaces.

The first day focused on “Prevention of psychosocial risks, stress and burnout at work”. The parallel session “Shaping Healthy Workplaces Together” brought together HOSPEEM and EPSU to present good practices from the Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee in Hospital and Healthcare sector. Their joint projects approached mental health from different angles such as occupational safety and health and recruitment and retention. HOSPEEM Policy Officer Leonie Martin reported on the work done on joint initiatives of social partners together with Adam Rogalewski from EPSU.

Events, News Hospeem

Marta Branca at the Eurofound/ILO event on job quality for essential workers

On the occasion of the publication of the Eurofound policy brief on essential workers, HOSPEEM Secretary General Marta Branca participated in the social partner panel hosted by Eurofound and ILO, on 10 October 2023. She emphasized the importance of the developing Social Dialogue to address issues such as staff shortages, mental health and attractiveness of jobs in the healthcare sector.

European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights Nicolas Schmit highlighted the importance of key workers. The presentation of the ILO and Eurofound experts pointed out the challenges and possible solutions across the sectors of essential workers. At the beginning of the year HOSPEEM participated in the interview for the Eurofound policy brief. Read more. 

The Eurofound policy brief

ILO Report World Employment and Social Outlook 2023: The value of essential work

Activities, Events Hospeem

Joint HOSPEEM – EPSU Technical Seminar on Skills and Digitalisation – 30 November 2022

Digital Health Transformation of Integrated Care in Europe

Digital and non-digital skills of healthcare professionals

Examples from EU Sectoral Social Partners

The Seminar explored how digital solutions can support the integration of health and care services and will discuss which set of existing and emerging skills should be identified and developed. EU Sectoral Social Partners presented employers’ and workers’ current and future challenges in digital transformation.

Draft agenda as of 23.11.2022

Presentations by the EU Institutions:
“Digital Health European Health Data Space (EHDS)” EC DG SANTE, Martin Dorazil
“Digital skills for the health and care professionals” by: EC DG REFORM, Sasa Jenko – Health System Development Department, Ministry of Social Affairs, Estonia: Katre Trofimov and TIC Salut Catalonia, Spain, Elisenda Reixach

DG Reform Factsheet – Technical support for Health Reforms

Presentations of social partners examples from BE, CZ, FI and CY:

Belgium “Digital steps towards integrated care in Belgium” Peter Raeymaekers, Zorgnet–Icuro

Czech Republic “The preparedness of health care digitalization in the Czech Republic” Jiří Horecký, UZS ČR

Finland “Professionals Needed Competencies Developing Digital Health and Social Care Services- What kind of steps do we need to take in the lifelong learning process?” Outi Ahonen, Laurea University of Applied Sciences

Cyprus “Digitization in the Cypriot healthcare system – a sectoral and a national perspective” – Marios Karaiskakis, PASIN and National Committee on Digitalisation – (Coming soon)

The seminar took place online on 30 November 2022.

EPSU also published an event page about the webinar

Events, News, Social Dialogue Hospeem

Social Partners in hospital and healthcare sign framework for the future of the sector

PRESS RELEASE

Brussels, 1st June 2022

Yesterday, the EU sectoral social partners in the hospital and healthcare sector, the European Public Services Union (EPSU) and the European Hospital and Healthcare Employers’ Association (HOSPEEM), signed the updated Framework of Actions on Recruitment and Retention (FoA R&R).

The original text was over a decade old; the revised text now better reflects the changes Europe’s health services have undergone in recent years.

Marta Branca, Secretary General of HOSPEEM, says: “Health staff shortages continue to be an issue for the hospital and healthcare sector across Europe. With the updated Framework of Actions on Recruitment and Retention, we social partners re-commit to initiatives that can strengthen the resilience of the health workforce.”

Jan Willem Goudriaan, General Secretary of EPSU, says: “The COVID-19 pandemic shows the importance of adequate workforce levels and protection from Psychosocial Risks at work. In the updated Framework of Actions, we underline that!  For, us workforce planning mechanisms must take present and future needs into account to ensure that an adequate number of staff with the requisite skills are available in the right place at the right time.”

The updated FoA includes aspects related to COVID-19, work-life balance, gender equality and digitalisation, focusing on the increasing Occupational Health and Safety issues which are important for health workers. These include psycho-social risks and stress, carcinogens, mutagens and reprotoxic substances (Hazardous Medicinal Products), musculoskeletal diseases and thirdparty violence.

Social partners are calling to urgently strengthen public health services in order to adequately deliver quality care, ensure equal access and make these services more resilient towards future health emergencies.

They also call on Member States and the European Commission to support social partners in  sectoral social dialogue and  collective bargaining processes, in particular in Southern and Eastern Europe, within the framework of the ongoing Social Dialogue review process of the European Commission.

The updated text stresses social partners’ commitment to strengthen the attractiveness of the sector and to support a rights-based approach for recruiting migrant workers.

It also includes references to existing initiatives for retention, e.g., an active ageing policy and addressing occupational safety and health risk factors together. The signatories also emphasise that social partners must be involved in workforce planning (worker’s needs, skills needs and skills mix) on all levels. The new framework of actions promotes diversity and gender equality in the workforce to reflect the diversity of the society it cares for.

For more information contact:  Leonie Martin, HOSPEEM or Pablo Sanchez, EPSU 

Notes to editors:

About the Framework on Actions on Recruitment and Retention

The initial Framework of Actions was adopted on 17 December 2010. Following a first implementation report in 2016, social partners have been negotiating an updated version between 2021 and 2022. The actions include supporting the recruitment and retention of workers in the hospital sector, improving work organization, developing, and implementing workforce planning mechanism, encouraging diversity and gender equality, continuous professional development for all workers in the sector, and achieving the safest possible working environment.

HOSPEEM and EPSU participate in the European Social Dialogue as the recognised European Social Partners in the Hospital and Healthcare Sector since 2006. A range of joint documents (declarations, code of conduct, framework of actions, framework agreements) have been adopted and multiple projects and activities have been successfully completed ever since.

European Hospital and Healthcare Employers’ Association https://hospeem.org/

European Federation of Public Service Unions www.epsu.org

Press Release in .pdf

*** EPSU also have published an article ***

Activities, Events Hospeem

Unions and Employers discuss European Health Data Space with a representative of the European Commission

On February 3, 2022, EPSU and HOSPEEM jointly organised an online informative session on the European Health Data Space (EHDS), with the purpose of providing a space  for the exchange of information between the European Commission (EC) and social partners in the healthcare sector. The aim of the meeting was to give the EC the platform to introduce the topic and discuss what implications the EHDS will have for health workers and the health sector.

The session started with a brief introduction by Jan-Willem Goudriaan, EPSU General Secretary, who welcomed expert Barbara Susec from ver.di, experts from HOSPEEM. and Hugo van Haastert, of DG Sante. (Unit B.3, European Reference Networks and Digital Health). He presented the initiative and stressed that the framework of the EHDS should serve the public and strengthen the quality of care.

Hugo van Haastert also  explained the legal proposal EC  has been working on and provided  insight into the existing European data infrastructure. He highlighted the role of the EHDS to simplify and connect primary and secondary health data to make them more accessible for workers and patients.

The presentation was followed by a discussion, in which data protection and the importance of equal access to data and digitisation, also via targeted training tools, were highlighted. Participants also emphasised that the role and involvement of health care workers within the framework of the EHDS should be more accentuated.

The session was concluded by Marta Branca, HOSPEEM General Secretary, who stressed the relevance of the informative session in the framework of the the Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee and thanked the organisers and participants for their input.

Download the European Commission’s presentation (.pdf)

EPSU also published an article on this topic

Activities, Events Hospeem

Webinar on Partnerships in Digital Skills Development

The HOSPEEM Webinar on “Partnerships in Digital Skills Development” took place online on 17 November 2021, gathering around 40 participants from across Europe, including employers’ organisations, EU institutions and other relevant stakeholders such as academia and healthcare professional organisations.

The Webinar focused on how the management processes and the related use of digital tools have been changing and adapting especially during the COVID-19 crisis. It also analysed the impact of these changes on healthcare professionals and patients.

Examples from the HOSPEEM Membership in Italy, Belgium and United Kingdom were showcased and the Flagship Initiative on Digital Skills for the health and care workforce was presented by Ms Raluca Painter, DG Reform, Head of Unit – Labour market, Education, Health and Social services.

HOSPEEM would like to thank the speakers: Stephanie Devisscher, Dominic Cushnan, Mark Halling-Brown, Giovanni Poggialini and Claudio Sorgi for their insightful contributions and extend a special thanks to Rosie Richards, NHS Assistant Director and Expert of the CPD and LLL HOSPEEM Group, who moderated the event.

Draft agenda (as of 16.11.2021)

Presentations and video

Implementing AI in Hospitals and Trusts in England, Dominic Cushnan, NHS AI Lab, NHSX (UK) and Mark Halling-Brown, Royal Surrey County Hospital (UK)

Covid telemonitoring leading to new ways of collaboration between caregivers, Stephanie Devisscher, Zorgnet-Icuro (BE)

The use of robotic technology as a support to hospital wards – Giovanni Poggialini, ASTT dei Sette Laghi, Varese (IT) – (coming soon)

A new perspective on healthcare professionals’ digital skills: The experience of Marche Regions’ Academy / Watch the video, Claudio Sorgi (IT):

Video – Marche Regions’ Academy in Italy

Events, Projects Hospeem

Webinar 3: Risk assessment, an EU health and safety obligation

The webinar is the third of a series of events as part of our joint project with EPSU, CEMR, CESI, ETUCE, EUPAE, ETF, UITP, and ETNO on the role of social partners in preventing third-party violence and harassment at work. It will take place on Monday, 25 October 2021 – 14:00-16:30 CET.

The webinar aims to understand implementing preventative risk assessment culture regarding third-party violence and harassment at work and provides good practice examples from national social partners.

The project will examine and discuss the prevalence, causes and impact of third-party violence and harassment at work in the partners’ respective sectors and recent legislative and social partners’ responses to this major health and safety matter of common concern. It will aim to assess the application at the national level of 2010 Multi-sectoral Guidelines to tackle third-party violence and harassment related to work and whether further actions might be needed to make its implementation more effective.

The project will focus on the following sectors: hospitals, prison services, employment services, front line workers in local and regional government, secondary schools, urban public transport as well as telecoms.

Interpretation will be provided to and from English, French, Italian and Spanish.

Agenda and report

Draft agenda (as of 04 October 2021)

Report Webinar 3

*** Back to the Joint Project Page ***

This project has received financial support from the European Union

Activities, Events, Projects Hospeem

Webinar 2: Gender-based violence and harassment

The webinar was the second of a series of events as part of our joint project with EPSU, CEMR, CESI, ETUCE, EUPAE, ETF, UITP, and ETNO on the role of social partners in preventing third-party violence and harassment at work took place on 24 September 2021 – 14:00-16:30 CET.

The webinar aimed to better understand gender-based violence and its consequences on workers, to discuss prevention and management measures at the workplace while sharing initial views on the potential update of the Guidelines.

The project  examined and discussed the prevalence, causes and impact of third-party violence and harassment at work in the partners’ respective sectors and recent legislative and social partners’ responses to this major health and safety matter of common concern.

It aimed to assess the application at the national level of 2010 Multi-sectoral Guidelines to tackle third-party violence and harassment related to work and whether further actions might be needed to make its implementation more effective.

The project focuses on the following sectors: hospitals, prison services, employment services, front line workers in local and regional government, secondary schools, urban public transport as well as telecoms.

Interpretation was provided to and from English, French, Italian and Spanish.

Presentations

Overview of survey responses and overview of measures against domestic violence at the workplace, Jane Pillinger, Project consultant

Ending violence and harassment in the world of work, ILO Convention 190 and Recommendation 206, presentation by Manuela Tomei, ILO

Agenda and report

Draft agenda (as of 31 August 2021)

Report webinar 2 

Materials

*** Back to the Joint Project Page ***

This project has received financial support from the European Union

Activities, Events, Projects Hospeem

Webinar 1: Setting the scene: definitions, impact and role of social dialogue  

The webinar is the first of a series of events as part of our joint project with EPSU, CEMR, CESI, ETUCE, EUPAE, ETF, UITP, and ETNO on the role of social partners in preventing third-party violence and harassment at work will take place on Tuesday 15 June 2021 – 14:00-16:30 CET.

The webinar’s objective is to review definitions, legal frameworks, latest data available & kickoff discussion on the role of sectoral social dialogue.

The project examines and discusses the prevalence, causes and impact of third-party violence and harassment at work in the partners’ respective sectors as well as recent legislative and social partners’ responses to this major health and safety matter of common concern.

It will aim to assess the application at the national level of 2010 Multi-sectoral Guidelines to tackle third-party violence and harassment related to work and whether further actions might be needed to make its implementation more effective. 

The project focus is on the following sectors: hospitals, prison services, employment services, front line workers in local and regional government, secondary schools, urban public transport as well as telecoms. 

Interpretation was provided to and from English, French, Italian and Spanish.

Presentations:

Project overview by Jane Pillinger, Project consultant

Evidence on violence and harassment at work from the European Working Conditions Survey, by Agnes Parent Thirion with Julie Vanderleyden, Eurofound

Draft agenda (as of 07 May 2021)

Webinar 1 report

*** Back to the Joint Project Page ***

This project has received financial support from the European Union

Events, News, Projects, Social Dialogue Hospeem

Media Release: HOSPEEM-EPSU 2nd Regional Workshop in Southern Europe, 15 November 2019, Rome, Italy

On 15 November 2019 HOSPEEM, EPSU and one of the national project partners, ARAN (HOSPEEM Member, Italy), organised the Second Regional Workshop in Rome, Italy.

The meeting was the occasion to discuss the capacity building needs of sectoral social partners in the hospital sector in six Southern Europe targeted countries: Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain, as well the level of involvement of the sectoral social dialogue partners in the health/hospital sector in those six countries in the European Semester.

The workshop allowed for an in-depth discussion on the current functioning of the social dialogue structures and institutions at the national, regional and local level and helped in identifying common challenges faced by social partners in their participation in and use of EU level social dialogue as well as in the European Semester process in the six countries respectively. A case study on Sweden was presented as a good practice example by Sandra Bergendorff (SALAR, HOSPEEM affiliate) and Göran Zettergren (TCO, Trade Union).

The project partners were delighted to welcome Ms Kristine Krivmane, European Commission who gave a comprehensive overview of the EU level social dialogue which was complemented by a presentation of activities of the Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for the Hospital Sector by HOSPEEM. An insight into the European Semester process was also provided by HOSPEEM.

The event gathered around 60 participants, from 18 EU Member States. Contributions from employers and trade unions’ representatives from the six targeted countries, EPSU and HOSPEEM members as well as from academia allowed for a fruitful discussion on the current social partners’ challenges in the sector.

HOSPEEM and EPSU would like to thank ARAN, FIASO and the INMI Spallanzani for organising and hosting the workshop.

The workshop’s materials will be available on HOSPEEM and EPSU websites. You find more information on the project provided by HOSPEEM and EPSU as well as the Hashtag #EUSocDia on Social Media.

Download the press release

HOSPEEM has published an event page for this workshop.

EPSU has also published a project webpage on this topic.

***Back to main project page***

This project has received financial support from the European Union

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