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

HOSPEEM October Newsletter is published

In this October 2022 Newsletter edition, you will read about the newly HOSPEEM-EPSU updated Framework of Actions on Recruitment and Retention, as the social partners are encouraging initiatives across Europe to strengthen the health workforce.

You will find also more information on:

  • EU Social Partners Cross-ectoral Work Programme 2022-2024
  • EC European Care Strategy
  • Prevention of third-party violence and harassment in the heath sector
  • Upskilling and reskilling the European healthcare workforce
  • International recruitment of health staff (UK)
  • Guidance to access health data (DK)

This newsletter also includes events and publications relevant for hospital employers:

4 October 2022: HOSPEEM Newsletter 2022 – Issue 3

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!  Forus 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 ***

HOSPEEM-EPSU Framework of Actions “Recruitment and retention”

HOSPEEM and EPSU signed the updated Framework of Actions on Recruitment and Retention (FoA R&R) on 31 May 2022 (Read Press Release). 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 of the Framework of Actions between 2021 and 2022.

Staff recruitment and retention are key issues in hospitals and healthcare. This agreement constitutes an important basis for social partners at European and national level to develop concrete action to tackle staff shortages and qualification needs now and in the future.

The key topics of the framework of actions are:

  • supporting the recruitment and retention of workers;
  • improving work organisation;
  • developing and implementing workforce-planning mechanisms;
  • encouraging diversity and gender equality in the health workforce;
  • promoting initial training, lifelong learning and continuous professional development;
  • achieving the safest possible working environment.

Donwload the 2022 updated framework of actions: EN
Download the 2010 framework of actions: ENFRDE, ES, SV, BG, CZ, FIN, IT, PL

A first implementation report was published in 2016: EN

Several presentations were given in 2014 about the actions taken by social partners in the following countries:

Mechanisms to access the labour market: jobs for the future and generation contract (Les dispositifs d’insertion: les emplois d’avenir et le contrat de génération), Olga Ville and Sylvie Amzaleg FEHAP / HOSPEEM France, 1 October 2014
The response of NHS Employers to current retention challenges faced by NHS England, Steven Weeks, NHS Employers / HOSPEEM UK, 1 October 2014
The recent challenges for the recruitment and retention of workers in the hospital sector in Italy and the response of the Italian government, Marta Branca and Elvira Gentile, ARAN / HOSPEEM Italy, 1 October 2014
Challenges in the leadership in health and social sector, Kirsi Sillanpää, Tehy / EPSU Finland, 1 October 2014
Austrian joint contribution on follow-up to HOSPEEM-EPSU Framework of Actions, Ulrike Neuhauser, KAV / HOSPEEM Austria, Karl Preterebner and Willibald Steinkellner, GdG-KMSfB and Vida / EPSU Austria, 1 October 2014
Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for nurses and midwives in Cyprus, Zoyia Antoniou, PASYDY / EPSU Cyprus, 25 June, 2014

Further material and information provided by HOSPEEM member:

NHS:

Recruitment of young people via employment programmes
Retaining staff through good employment practices
Apprenticeship and traineeship programmes
Ageing workforce
“Nurse Back to Practice” programme
Social partnership forum
(Data on trends staff numbers in the NHS can be found via the Health and Social Care Information Centre monthly statistics)

CLAE:
Longer careers with the job life cycle model – guide to designing an age plan

*** Read 2022 Press Release – Read 2010 Press release ***

NHS Employers and HOSPEEM to speak on Ethical international recruitment of skilled workers in the healthcare sector 

On 21 April 2021, HOSPEEM’s UK member, together with the UK Department of Health and Social Care, the King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, will speak on Ethical international recruitment of skilled workers in the healthcare sector online seminar series hosted by the German institute EBB Bildung.

Like many other countries worldwide, Germany is affected by a shortage of skilled labour, especially in the healthcare sector. As a result, healthcare facilities, employers, and agencies aim to close the skills gap by recruiting international skilled workers, mostly from lower-income countries. Simultaneously, the outflow of skilled workers impacts the economies of these countries of origin with already fragile health systems. Regardless of the disparities that arisen, health worker migration has increased over the past decades. How could these inequalities be addressed, knowing that migrants belong to the most vulnerable groups on the job market, especially in the healthcare sector? Which instruments are needed to guarantee sustainable and ethical recruitment practices from abroad and equal rights and ethical treatment of skilled workers in their new workplace?

To address these challenges, the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted the WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel in 2010.

How a Global Code finds implementation on the European, national, local level and then workplace level will focus on the IQ online-seminar. Altogether, the IQ online-seminar will allow attendees to understand how several international ethical recruitment codes are implemented on different policy levels. Finally, as a practical example, King’s College Hospital London will present their international recruitment practices.

Speakers: 
The webinar concept note is available in English – EN and German – DE

Please register via mail by 16 April 2021 at hospeem@hospeem.eu.

Commitment to the WHO Charter on Health Worker Safety: A Priority for Patient Safety

Brussels, 16 November

HOSPEEM expresses its commitment to the World Health Organizations’ Charter on Health Worker Safety: A Priority for Patient Safety. We agree that the health, safety, and well-being of health workers is a prerequisite for an effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Besides the already mentioned key measures, HOSPEEM commits to the following:

1. Establish synergies between health worker safety and patient safety policies and strategies.

Aim to ensure the health workers’ safety when implementing the HOSPEEM-EPSU Joint Declaration on CPD and LLL for All Health Workers in the EU, which has been adopted in 2016.

2. Develop and implement national programmes for better occupational health and safety of health workers.

Updating the HOSPEEM-EPSU Framework of Actions on Recruitment and Retention (2010) with lessons’ learnt from COVID-19 and previous joint projects on occupational safety and health.

3. Protect health workers from violence in the workplace.

Promote the implementation of the Multi-sectoral guidelines to tackle third-party violence and harassment related to work, signed in 2010 and reaffirmed in 2020.

4. Improve mental health and psychological well-being of the health workforce.

Collect lessons learnt from national sectoral social partners in the hospital sector in the context of COVID-19 and create space for the exchange of good practices on improving mental health and the psychological well-being of the health workforce.

5. Protect health workers from physical and biological hazards.

Monitoring the developments of the Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive 2004/37/EC concerning the inclusion of hazardous medicinal products and cytotoxic substances as well as the development of non-binding measures in this regard.

Active participation as Official Campaign Partner in the EU-OSHA Healthy Workplace Campaign Lighten the Load (2020-2022).

Promoting the implementation of the Medical Sharps Directive 2010/32/EU in the European Member States by strengthening synergies with other relevant stakeholders.

Aim to ensure availability of personal protective equipment (PPE), relevant to the roles and tasks performed, in adequate quantity, of appropriate fit and acceptable quality.

Download the HOSPEEM committment to the WHOs’ Charter on Health Worker Safety (Pdf)

Nb: WHO invites all Member States, intergovernmental organizations, international organizations and relevant stakeholders to support and endorse this charter by signing up.

WHO technical resources – useful links:

Image credits: Courtesy of the World Health Organisation, 2020

HOSPEEM-EPSU Joint Work Programme 2020-2023 for the European Sectoral Social Dialogue in the Hospital Sector

In December 2019, the Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for the Hospital Sector (SSDC-HS), HOSPEEM and EPSU reached a final agreement of the Joint Work-Programme 2020-2022.

In November 2021 at the plenary meeting of the Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee, HOSPEEM and EPSU extended the Work Programme until 2023.

It is structured around four major thematic priorities, i.e Occupational Safety and health, recruitment and retention of the health workforce,  Continuing Professional Development and Life-Long Learning, European/ EU-level healthcare policy. Each sub-theme is presented with specific objectives, deliverables and a timeline.

PDF - 304.4 koDownload the Joint Work Programme 2020-2022- EN

PDF - 304.4 koDownload the Joint Work Programme 2020-2022 – streamlined version – EN

PDF - 304.4 koDownload the extended Joint Work Programme 2020-2023 – EN

10-year anniversary of the EPSU-HOSPEEM Code of Conduct on Ethical Cross-Border Recruitment and Retention

MEDIA RELEASE

In their first Working Group meeting of the European Social Dialogue in the Hospital Sector, on 04 April 2018 HOSPEEM and EPSU looked back to the signing of the EPSU-HOSPEEM Code of Conduct on Ethical Cross-Border Recruitment and Retention on 8 April 2008 and renewed their commitment to promote, guarantee and defend decent recruitment and working conditions for migrant workers, from the EU and from outside the EU, in hospitals and healthcare facilities across Europe. 

HOSPEEM and EPSU issued a Joint Media Release on the 10 years anniversary of the Code of Conduct. It represents an important instrument to support the free movement of workers across the European Union while preventing unethical competition between the Member States and employers in terms of cross-country recruitment process, fair and transparent contracting and the induction of migrant workers at the new workplace. This also holds for their equal and non-discriminatory treatment regarding labour law, social protection provisions and the access to training and career progression and the freedom of association.  

The EPSU-HOSPEEM Code of Conduct on Ethical Cross-Border Recruitment and Retention was inspired by social partner-based or/and public policy tools already in use in different European Union Member States. At international level, the World Health Organisation (WHO) on 21 May 2010 adopted and set into practice the WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel. The Global Code, non-binding in nature, addresses a number of similar issues already covered with in the EPSU-HOSPEEM Code of Conduct. 

In the meeting on 4 April 2018, HOSPEEM and EPSU members reiterated their commitment to the 12 key principles of their 2008 Code of Conduct and to the promotion of ethical recruitment and retention practices at European, national, regional and local level in the upcoming years, both in their own work and in the broader context of the European Pillar of Social Rights. 

Tjitte Alkema, Secretary General of HOSPEEM reflected on the impact of the Code of Conduct: “10 years ago, our Code of Conduct was an inspiration for the work of the World Health Organisation. Nowadays, given the migration flows to and within the European Member States, it is still very relevant. 

EPSU General Secretary Jan Willem Goudriaan welcomed the constructive dialogue there has been with the European employers since the Code of Conduct. “We sought to ensure decent working conditions for all, to prevent the exploitation of migrant workers and to make sure public health systems are not undermined by unfair recruitment practices. Our Code was and is a significant contribution to achieve sustainable quality care for all.”  

At the meeting on 4 April 2018, several HOSPEEM members and EPSU affiliates commented on the use and positive effects of the EPSU-HOSPEEM Code of Conduct on Ethical Cross-Border Recruitment and Retention. They also referred to different models of how the 12 principles of the Code of Conduct have been incorporated in their national contexts, either into legislation, by means of collective agreements and/or by using enterprise-based agreements. 

Kate Ling, NHS Confederation, United Kingdom, gave an overview on the use by the employers in the NHS and about the effects of the Code of Conduct in the United Kingdom, showcasing some good practice examples: “NHS organisations should only use recruitment agencies that comply with the Code, which includes guarantees to give overseas recruits good induction, training and employment protection. A key tenet of the UK Code is that recruitment of staff from abroad should not damage healthcare systems in developing countries.  Active recruitment from developing countries shouldn’t take place unless there is a government-to-government agreement. For example, the UK and India have a scheme called Earn Learn and Return where staff from India can come to the UK to fill shortages in specialist areas, and in return they get the opportunity to gain specialist expertise and develop skills that they can then take back with them after they leave the UK to improve healthcare in India. So, both countries benefit.” 

Tjitte Alkema wrapped up the Working Group meeting, reflecting on the freedom of movement of persons in the European Union and the respective aim of the Code of Conduct: “We are in the European Union: one of the fundamental rights is the freedom of movement of people within the European Union. Our Code of Conduct is trying to establish a fair system of mobility in which people are not exploited and countries are not suffering from the mobility of workers. The Code of Conduct is however only as strong as the partners that support it. It only works if we also identify incorrect application, put them on the table and make them transparent. The WHO Code and the Code of Conduct of the Social Partners are complementary in the European setting.”

PDF - 304.4 koMedia release

EPSU has also published an article on the event and the 10-year anniversary celebration.

HOSPEEM Activity Report 2017

The HOSPEEM Activity Report 2017 is published. This activity report presents basic information on the history of HOSPEEM, on the membership structure as well as on the main activities carried out during the year.

2017 has been a productive year with a number of achievements: the start of the new joint HOSPEEM-EPSU project on effective recruitment and retention policies including the June conference “Working together, learning together – Switching to the learning mode”, the start of the HOSPEEM-EPSU new work programme 2017-2019 for the European social dialogue, the high-level metings with European Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis and the Bulgarian Minister of Health Prof. Nikolai Petrov, the joint HOSPEEM-HOPE workshop “AMR and workplace learning – The case for a multi-professional approach in hospitals” at the European Parliament.

PDF - 304.4 koDownload the report

 

HOSPEEM-EPSU project – Media release: Social Partners’ Conference on Continuing Professional Development

                                                        

 Social Partners’ Conference on Continuing Professional Development

“Working together, learning together – Switching to the learning mode”

MEDIA RELEASE

On 19 and 20 June 2017, HOSPEEM and EPSU – with the support of the Dutch HOSPEEM member Nederlandse Vereniging van Ziekenhuizen (NVZ) – organised the conference “Working together, learning together – Switching to the learning mode” in Amsterdam to pursue and deepen their thematic focus on Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and Life-Long Learning (LLL).

The event built on the HOSPEEM-EPSU Joint Declaration on Continuing Professional Development and Life-Long Learning for All Health Workers in the EU adopted in November 2016. In this document the sectoral social partners in the hospital and health care sector recognise CPD as paramount for the maintenance and improvement of the quality of care and patient safety. Access to CPD and career options are presented as supportive of effective recruitment and retention policies. The joint declaration highlights that CPD and LLL initiatives should be considered as a long-term investment in the (productivity of the) health workforce and not as a cost factor. Social partners have a major role to play when it comes to CPD, in partnership with competent authorities and other relevant stakeholders. The declaration also states that undertaking CPD is a shared responsibility of employers and workers and depends to a large extent on the intrinsic motivation of employees to invest in their own development. HOSPEEM and EPSU finally recall the importance of taking local specificities into consideration and respecting the different national legal and regulatory frameworks when designing CPD systems.

The conference provided a forum for exchange and debate on a number of social partner-based initiatives presented by representatives of HOSPEEM members and EPSU affiliates from Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom and on the key role played by social partners in this field. It offered the opportunity to learn more about supportive regulatory frameworks for CPD and about policy measures aimed at facilitating access to CPD, updating or upgrading qualifications, skills, competence and professional practice, the provision of quality services by a hospital/health care workforce fit for practice and at a high level of patient safety. In addition, several researchers shared their insights and experiences during the plenary sessions or during one of the four thematic break-out sessions organised. Balazs Lengyel of DG SANTE presented the main insights and selected conclusions and recommendations from the study “Mapping CPD and LLL for health professionals in the EU” – focusing on nurses, midwifes, doctors, dentists and pharmacists – issued in 2015 and commissioned by the European Commission.

A range of aspects related to CPD was covered by the presentations and discussions at the HOSPEEM-EPSU conference. These include: How to ensure sustainable models of financing of CPD for all types of health workers? How to best make CPD available for all health workers in an equal manner across all age groups, occupational groups, working patterns and all types of contracts? What can social partners at the different levels do to give better access to groups often under-represented in CPD and LLL, such as health workers aged 45+, part-time workers or workers with lower formal qualifications (mainly health care support staff)? Which models of CPD to use to support increasing demands of working in teams bringing together different health professions? How to best organise CPD on the backdrop of an increasing digitalisation of health care services (e-health; m-health; telemedicine)? How to build CPD as a key element into team and personal development planning and organisational development strategies? How to develop a partnership approach in designing, organising, implementing and assessing CPD policies and tools at national, sectoral and enterprise level?

Looking at the health professions, a particular focus was given to nurses, health care support staff and doctors. This was also underpinned by four short testimonial videos of Dutch nurses produced by NVZ about how they have benefited from CPD in their professional career and various work contexts so far and which expectations they have as to the organisation of CPD in the future.

The conference was opened by a group interview involving Bas van den Dungen, representative of the Dutch Ministry of Health, Elise Merlijn, FNV, The Netherlands, representing EPSU, and Kate Ling, NHS, United Kingdom, representing HOSPEEM. The social partner representatives highlighted some of the trade unions’ and employers’ priorities in the field of CPD and LLL, the key opportunities and problems to be addressed. The participants watched a video message by Commissioner Andriukaitis in which he expressed his support for the Joint HOSPEEM-EPSU Declaration on CPD and LLL for all Health Workers in the EU and for the ongoing work of the sectoral social partners in the hospital sector in the field of CPD.

During the conference, participants were asked to write down and share the most relevant “take home messages” to them. This input as well as visuals of a graphic recorder were used by the chairpersons and the moderator of the closing panel, Nico Knibbe, LOCOmotion, The Netherlands. Wrapping up the conference, Sabine Scheer, NVZ, The Netherlands, representing HOSPEEM, Kirsi Sillanpää, Tehy, Finland, representing EPSU, and Alice Casagrande, FEHAP, France, pointed to their key “learning experiences” during the conference and highlighted the take home messages they consider most relevant.

This conference was a key step for the sectoral social partners in the hospital and health care sector, HOSPEEM and EPSU, in identifying successful approaches, instruments and formats of CPD, both from the management and workers’ perspective. It brought together more than 100 participants from 18 EU Member States and 4 non-EU countries, including 35 participants from the Netherlands. The event was organised in the framework of the HOSPEEM-EPSU EU-funded project “Promoting effective recruitment and retention policies for health workers in the EU by ensuring access to CPD and healthy and safe workplaces supportive of patient safety and quality care” (2017-2018) and a contribution of the hospital and healthcare sector social partners to the 2016-2017 EU-OSHA Campaign ”Healthy Workplaces For All Ages”.

EPSU’s and HOSPEEM’s work on this issue will continue in 2017 and 2018. A report on the conference, also containing the key take-home messages, will be published by the end of 2017. It will be disseminated at national and at EU level and will feed into the future work of the Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for the Hospital Sector on CPD.

Amsterdam/Brussels, 23 June 2017

PDF - 304.4 ko Media release

Contact:

HOSPEEM: Emilie Sourdoire, Policy Officer, e.sourdoire@hospeem.eu, +32/2/2292158

EPSU: Mathias Maucher, Policy Officer “Health & Social Services”, mmaucher@epsu.org, +32/2/2501093