Almost 100 nurses have left the Balearic Islands: "They cannot afford the cost of living here"

PalmaThe difficulty in accessing housing and the high cost of living continue to take their toll on public healthcare in the Balearic Islands. The SATSE Nursing Union has reported that 80 nurses have left the Balearic Islands between January 1 and May 15, a situation it directly attributes to the impossibility for many professionals to maintain themselves economically in the Archipelago.

According to the professional mobility data collected by the union, more and more nurses are opting to continue their careers outside the Balearic Islands, where they find better working conditions, more competitive salaries, and, above all, a more affordable quality of life in terms of housing and daily expenses. "We are losing nurses at a rate we cannot afford," warned the general secretary of SATSE Balearic Islands, Jorge Tera. The union denounces that current conditions make it very difficult to retain healthcare professionals in islands marked by the constant increase in rents and cost of living.

Faced with this situation, SATSE continues to demand the implementation of a difficult-to-cover bonus in Mallorca with the aim of attracting and retaining healthcare professionals. Recently, the union delivered more than 3,000 signatures to IB-Salut to demand urgent measures to compensate for the extra cost of living in the Balearic Islands and has already warned that it will intensify the campaign from the autumn if the Ministry of Health does not offer an immediate response.

The situation, moreover, coincides with the latest studies promoted by the Ministry of Health, which warn of the structural shortage of nurses in the State. The report on professional needs concludes that Spain needs nearly 100,000 more nurses to reach the average ratio of the European Union.

In the case of the Balearic Islands, the deficit is particularly worrying: the healthcare system would need about 3,000 more professionals to approach European standards. Added to this is another alarming factor: almost 40% of nurses say they are considering leaving the profession in the next decade.

SATSE warns that the problem is not solved merely by increasing the number of graduates. "It is not enough to train nurses; conditions must be offered that allow them to be retained," insists Tera. The union recalls that the professionals graduating from the Faculty of Nursing of the UIB and CESAG are not enough to cover retirements, leaves of absence, and the constant departures of staff.

The most immediate consequence of this exodus of professionals will be, according to SATSE, a particularly complicated summer for health centers in the Balearic Islands. The arrival of thousands of visitors will coincide with strained staffing levels and difficulties in covering holidays and replacements.

"There will be services operating with fewer staff than necessary and many nurses will have to assume an even greater care burden to maintain care," denounces the union, which considers that the Balearic health system "cannot continue to be sustained at the expense of the permanent overexertion of professionals".

For this reason, SATSE demands urgent measures in both labor matters and access to housing to curb an exodus of professionals that, they assure, is already beginning to have direct consequences on healthcare in the Balearic Islands.