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HOSPEEM NEWS

Issue 5 - December 2018

EDITORIAL

Dear reader reader,

In November, the HOSPEEM-EPSU Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for the Hospital Sector (SSDC-HS) and the HOSPEEM General Assembly/Steering Committee marked a formal end to the social dialogue calendar for this year.

2018 has been a year rich in achievements for HOSPEEM. Firstly, the cooperation with the EU institutions and other relevant EU stakeholders has been strengthened and throughout the year HOSPEEM has been regularly invited to contribute to high-level events and meetings. Secondly, a successful conference has been organised in Vilnius on musculoskeletal disorders and psychosocial risks and stress at work in the context of the HOSPEEM-EPSU OSH project. Thirdly, the dissemination workshop of the HOSPEEM-EPSU projects on OSH and CPD took place in the European Parliament in Brussels in December, co-organised by EPSU and hosted by MEP Jana Žitňanská, ECR, Slovakia and MEP Brando Benifei, S&D, Italy. The workshop presented the outcomes of two projects and was enriched by national social partners’ interventions. Participants discussed the way forward to ensure healthy and safe workplaces supportive of patient safety and quality care.

Three years ago, I was re-elected as Secretary General of HOSPEEM by the members of the General Assembly for a second three-year mandate period. I am very grateful for the great support expressed by members throughout the past 6 years. Although my mandate as Secretary General, at my request, is coming to an end as of January 1st next year, I look forward to being an active member of the HOSPEEM Steering Committee in the future. Thanks to the continuous commitment of HOSPEEM members, I am convinced more great results are laying ahead of us, if we continue our joint efforts as a strong European employers’ organisation, in the years to come.

This newsletter and the HOSPEEM website have 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.

I wish you all a pleasant winter break, enjoy your reading!

Tjitte Alkema
Secretary General of HOSPEEM

HOSPEEM NEWS

HOSPEEM and EPSU hosted a workshop with approximately 30 participants from the health and employment sector taking stock on four years of work in the field of musculoskeletal disorders and psycho-social risks and stress at work as well as recruitment and retention enriched by national social partners’ interventions. Participants discussed the way forward to ensure healthy and safe workplaces supportive of patient safety and quality care.

HOSPEEM General Assembly, November 2018

At the General Assembly, HOSPEEM Members had the opportunity to meet Dominique Monnet, Head of the Disease Programme of Antimicrobial Resistance at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) who highlighted the importance of prevention of antimicrobial resistance in the hospital sector and further on discussed with the Members what hospital and healthcare employers should do to raise awareness of healthcare professionals and staff employed within the hospital setting. The members of the General Assembly also discussed the HOSPEEM agenda setting for 2019 and the future priorities.

Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee meeting, November 2018

Participants discussed the possible tools for the future work on Occupational Safety and Health following four years of project work. Eszter Kovács, project coordinator of the Support for the health workforce planning and forecasting expert network (SEPEN) gave an update on the development of their project to which HOSPEEM & EPSU continuously contribute with their expertise in recruitment.
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NEMS FROM MEMBERS

"This year is the 10th anniversary of the Lithuanian National Association of Health Care Organizations as a full-fledged member to HOSPEEM (28.10.2018). Throughout this period, our organization has gained a lot of experience with the opportunity to attend meetings, conferences and other events, international projects and working groups organized by HOSPEEM and addressing health-related issues. The latest example of successful cooperation is the European Conference held in Lithuania this year, in which the topics and issues raised, and the proposals presented will be useful to all participants and will be heard by the responsible institutions. I hope and wish for this organization a successful and productive activity and close cooperation in the future as well."

Prof. habil. Dr.Vinsas Janusonis
President of Lithuanian National Association of Health Care Organizations, 2018

FEHAP 2018 Declaration “Partners in knowledge”

In 2017 at the Social Partner’s Conference in Amsterdam, Alice Casagrande (FEHAP, FR) and Dr. Angela Towle (University of British Columbia, CA) had already presented the topic of collaboration with patients in the training of health and social care professionals. This declaration is a follow-up to the 2015 Vancouver Statement which laid the foundation for a citizen-based approach to patient involvement and participation in professional training (FR, EN).
Its aim is to echo the initial Vancouver statement, pleading for a deep renewal of both initial training and continuing professional development practices in France. FEHAP obtained the endorsement of the declaration by the French Minister of Health. You are welcome to express your interest or support to the declaration by contacting FEHAP.

EU NEWS

European Semester Autumn Package

The European Semester Package has been published, including the Joint Employment report which entails specific key messages on the need for healthcare systems to adapt to demographic change and the need to improve access to quality and effective health care as well as key messages on social dialogue as a key element for the European social market economy. On 6 December, The European Council to discussed and endorse the package. Furthermore, the European Commission looks forward to a fruitful debate with the European Parliament on the policy priorities for the EU as well as to further engagement with social partners in the context of the European Semester.

Council of the European Union: Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs – Council meeting

A general approach was reached on a proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on establishing a European Labour Authority (ELA). The current proposal stresses the need to respect "national industrial relations systems as well as the autonomy of social partners as explicitly recognised by the TFEU" and that it "shall facilitate information sharing between relevant stakeholders, such as […] social partners." The Council also endorsed the EMCO key messages on the implementation of the Recommendation on long-term unemployment: In regard to employer engagement “a more strategic approach to partnerships with employers is still lacking in some countries. Whilst co-operation with social partners is usually in place, it could be more formalised and better structured in some cases, particularly at the local level.”

Carcinogens or mutagens at work Directive

The Employment and Social Affairs Committee of the European Parliament adopted the European Commission’s proposal to further update the rules that protect workers' health from the specific risks arising from exposure to carcinogens or mutagens. The report highlights the role and authority of social partners in relation to occupational safety and health, also in light of setting more stringent exposure limits in cooperation with the Member States. Furthermore, the report takes note that the healthcare sector is likely to have no difficulty in respecting the limit-value for formaldehyde set in this Directive, given its concentration in comparison to the industry. The Committee is now ready to enter into negotiations with the European Commission and the Council. The Council reached a general approach on a proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2004/37/EC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens or mutagens at work.

EC Progress on social initiatives of the Juncker Commission

The European Commission has published an overview document highlighting its progress in key social and employment dossiers under its presidency of Jean-Claude Juncker.

European Pillar of Social Rights celebrates its first anniversary

A year ago, the European Pillar of Social Rights was proclaimed by the European Parliament, the Commission and the Council on 17 November 2017. More information is available on the progress achieved since its implementation.

The Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU: 1 January - 30 June 2019

Romania will start its first European Council Presidency on 1st January 2019. Its priorities for the health sector is among others health technology assessment, antimicrobial resistance vaccination, access to medicine, digital health and lastly, cross-border mobility of patients. The website will be available in English at the beginning of the Presidency.

ATTENDED EVENTS

29/11/2018: EU Health Summit, Brussels, Belgium, organised by 28 stakeholders.
The Summit aimed to distil recommendations for the next European Commission and European Parliament to bring the necessary changes about.

19/11/2018: Interest Group on Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases, Brussels, Belgium organised by EULAR
This meeting discussed the future direction of EU health and social policy in light of Brexit and how the UK and EU can continue collaborating successfully in these areas and discuss how the interest of people with chronic diseases can be best recognised.

15/11/2018: Antibiotic Awareness Day, Brussels, Belgium, organised by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
HOSPEEM attended the Antibiotic Awareness Day organised by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and actively participated in the discussion by stressing the importance of continuing professional development and Life Long Learning for all healthcare staff and patients for a better understanding and a more prudent use of antibiotics in hospital settings. Read more

7-9/11/2018: 1st Italian Health Management Convention, Rome, Italy, organised by FIASO
The first Italian Health Management Convention was held in Rome, from 7 to 9 November 2018, and involved 1,500 decision makers in three days of meetings, debates and workshops on the top agenda current issues, from the changes in the working environment in the healthcare sector, to the welfare models, from the new models of care, to new models of governance. HOSPEEM was invited to present the European Social Dialogue for the healthcare and hospital sector

29-30/10/2018: Support for the health workforce planning and forecasting expert network (SEPEN) “Dialogue on key health workforce planning data definitions”, Budapest, Hungary

24/10/2018: PESSIS+ project Second Technical Seminar "Digitalisation in Social Services: defining opportunities for social partners, barriers and how to prepare them for the future”, Brussels, Belgium, organised by EPSU and the European Social Employers. HOSPEEM attended the Technical Seminar "Digitalisation in Social Services", jointly organised by EPSU and Social Employers in the framework of the PESSIS+ project. Best practice examples were presented by project partners.

24-25/10/2018: Stakeholders Meeting on capacity-building for effective social dialogue, Brussels, Belgium, organised by Eurofound
HOSPEEM attended the stakeholder meeting and shared the social dialogue committee’s activities in terms of capacity building in the hospital sector. The meeting was the first meeting to identify capacity needs and issues to be addressed, and to support possible solutions on national level.

17/10/2018: Working conditions in different sectors and occupations, Brussels, Belgium, organised by Eurofound
The purpose of the workshop is to present and discuss the research plan of the project which aims at investigating working conditions in different economic sectors in the EU28 based on the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS).



FUTURE EVENTS

SAVE the DATE!

HOSPEEM events
- 12/02/2019: HOSPEEM Steering Committee/General Assembly
- 16/05/2019: HOSPEEM Steering Committee/General Assembly
- 16/12/2019: HOSPEEM Steering Committee/General Assembly

HOSPEEM-EPSU events
- 13/02/2019: Working Group 1/2019
- 17/05/2019: Working Group 2/2019
- 17/12/2019: Plenary Meeting 2019

PUBLICATIONS

EC Study on the movement of skilled labour

The European Commission has published a study that looks into the questions on patterns of “brain flow” in Europe, with a particular focus on the health sector. The chapter provides an overview of the demographic and labour market situation in the sector and general patterns on the migration of skilled labour while understanding the movement of skilled workers as well as policy responses with best practice examples from national actors, such as the NHS Confederation in the UK. HOSPEEM provided feedback to the case study, in particular on European policy responses as well as establishing contacts to national social partners. Read more.

EC Report on inequalities in access to healthcare across the EU

The study, which includes country reports and a synthesis report, provides an overview of inequality in access to healthcare in 35 European countries highlighting persistent inequalities between and within countries. Read more

EC report: Health at a Glance Europe

This report analyses the state of health of EU citizens and the performance of EU health systems and statistical indicators for 35 European countries. The report also provides insight into two EU political priorities: strategies to reduce wasteful spending – Turning the lens to hospitals and pharmaceuticals as well as promoting mental health. The report was also presented at the Council of the European Union. Read more

WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel: third round of national reporting

In light of the 144th Session of the Executive Board in January 2019, the WHO published a report on the Code implementation, selected results from national reports as well as an overview of activities targeted at supporting Code implementation. It also proposes modalities for 2nd review of the relevance and effectiveness of the Code.

WHO International Platform on Health Worker Mobility: Evidence, Solutions and Instruments – Meeting Report 13 – 14 September 2018

This publication reports on the 2nd WHO International Platform on Health Worker Mobility, where HOSPEEM participated in September 2018. The meeting was jointly hosted by ILO, OECD, and WHO, as part of the Working for Health Programme. Participants discuss existing policy measures and to identify strategic actions to strengthen the management and governance of health worker mobility.

WHO New statistics on health workforce from labour force surveys

As part of the ILO/OECD/WHO Working for Health Programme and within the interagency data exchange framework, ILO and WHO are conducting new analysis from the data collected through the ILO labour force survey. Health workforce data from 57 countries have been extracted, including countries of the European Union. The new data will be incorporated into the National Health Workforce Accounts platform and in the next edition of the Global Health Observatory. Country profiles with national workforce data are also being prepared.
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