Guido Bertolaso, councilor for Welfare of Lombardy, is heading to Argentina and Paraguay to finalize an agreement with local health authorities to bring between 400 and 500 South American nurses to hospitals and healthcare companies in Lombardy by the end of the year. In an interview with Repubblica Milan, Bertolaso stated that this agreement presents a good opportunity to address the severe shortage of nurses in Lombardy.
The plan is for the foreign nurses to be distributed among hospitals and clinics, with a focus on providing integrated home care for non-self-sufficient elderly individuals and those with serious illnesses. Bertolaso highlighted the quality of nursing schools in Argentina and Paraguay, stating that the integration of these nurses into Italian healthcare facilities would be rapid due to minimal cultural and linguistic differences.
This initiative follows a successful trial in the province of Varese, where 11 South American nurses have been serving since the end of last year. The positive outcomes from this trial encouraged the Sette Laghi healthcare company to recruit seven additional South American nurses from Paraguay. The success of these efforts has motivated Bertolaso to expand the project further.
The shortage of nurses is a pressing issue not only in Lombardy but throughout Italy. According to recent data from the national federation of orders of nursing professions (FNOPI), there are approximately 395,000 nurses in Italy, with a significant need for more nursing staff. The Court of Auditors highlighted the undersized nature of Italy’s nursing workforce compared to European standards, estimating a deficit of around 65,000 nurses across the country.
In response to the growing demand for nursing services, the national recovery and resilience plan (PNRR) aims to hire 20,000 additional nurses to support healthcare reforms, including the establishment of Community Houses and the introduction of community nurses. In Lombardy alone, 3,000 nurses are expected to be recruited to align with the PNRR initiatives.
The economic challenges faced by nurses in Italy, including relatively low salaries compared to other European countries, have contributed to a decline in applications for nursing programs. The federation of nursing professions has called for government intervention to address these issues and ensure a sustainable nursing workforce for the future.
As efforts to bolster the nursing workforce in Lombardy and across Italy continue, the collaboration with South American countries to recruit qualified nurses represents a promising step towards alleviating the current staffing shortages in healthcare facilities.