Por Redaccion 
The Minister of Health and Consumer Affairs, Rocío Hernández, appeared before a parliamentary committee to highlight her department’s commitment to Nursing, a group she considers «one of the fundamental pillars of our public health system.» Hernández emphasized that «the professionalism, care, dedication, and attention to detail that they give to each and every patient in different consultations and care settings are virtues that dignify our public system and give it a special value of which we should be proud.»
The minister emphasized the Andalusian Government’s commitment to stabilizing employment and improving the working conditions of these professionals. She provided a key fact that «affirms this Government’s commitment to the work of Nursing professionals: more than 37,700 average staff of this modality work in the public health system of Andalusia, 8,500 more than in 2018, of which 7,341 are permanent appointments structurally integrated into the SAS workforce.» In this sense, she stressed that «never before have so many nursing professionals worked in the public system, and never before has there been such job stability.»
Hernández detailed the reinforcements in different nursing specialties: 102 case management nurses in senior centers, 44 advanced practice nurses in diabetes, 36 for the management of chronic wounds, 32 in ostomies, 43 in oncology, 411 in family and community, and another 411 as references in educational centers. These increases have contributed to Andalusia improving «several statistical convergence indicators in health where our region was very behind,» according to a report from the Ministry of Health.
The minister also outlined improvements in working conditions, such as the increase in remuneration for complementary shifts and continuous care, so, in the case of Primary Care nurses, these increases reach 24.61% on weekdays; 22.61% on weekends and holidays, and 24.61% on special holidays. Additionally, complements for all A2 hospital staff have been increased by 150 euros and the value of Age-Adjusted Cards (TAE) for Primary Care staff has been modified.
Moreover, thanks to the Professional Career model in Andalusia, «one of the most demanding and advanced in the country,» the remuneration for nursing professionals has increased by more than 4,600 euros annually for Primary Care and over 3,700 euros annually for hospital care since 2018. The Council of Government has approved a budget modification to increase the allocation of the Professional Performance Supplement (Productivity) by almost 18 million, benefiting 120,524 professionals, 5,000 more than in 2023.
Regarding job stability, a priority objective of the Government, Rocío Hernández reported that «three-quarters of the temporary nursing staff at the Andalusian Health Service have long-term contracts». To continue reducing temporality, the Public Employment offers for 2022, 2023, and 2024 have been called, with exams for Nursing held on May 17. This will allow the stabilization of 6,267 nurses of different specialties and care levels, who «will have a permanent position in the SAS workforce,» she stated.
Finally, the minister addressed the reform of the Employment Pool. The current model, almost 20 years old, «cannot meet the needs of the current reality in Andalusia and poses a series of inherited problems that ultimately affect professionals.»
The new system that will be proposed will «speed up hiring, incorporate newly graduated specialists, automate processes, simplify criteria, improve legal security and equity, and adapt the system to the digital and care reality.» In essence, it advocates for «a more agile, fair, transparent, efficient, reliable, and less discretionary model, more linked to the current health needs of Andalusia and with a greater weight of professional merits (at least 85%)». The first step was taken in November of last year with the permanent opening of the Electronic Window for the Nursing Pool, allowing the assessment of 11 million merits from 183,328 job seekers.