Éxodo

ÉXODO Rita Álvarez Tudela

ÉXODO Rita à lvarez Tudela

To the immigrants, for their tremendous courage To the nurses, for their amazing work To my parents, for their unconditional love To my friends, for their incredible support

T

here was a time in Spain when nursing university students were promised a job on the first day of classes. They would sign contracts for summer terms while studying and they had a prospect of a well-paid job four years later. Entering Nursing Faculties was not an easy choice. The entry qualification for Nursing was high and only the best students could have access.

Furthermore, society held them in high regard. For most grandparents it was an ideal profession for their grandchildren.The situation started to change at the end of 2011. There were fewer opportunities. Contracts started to be for just a few months, but in some cases they were reduced to just a few weeks or even a couple of days. Salaries would also decreased. The situation was desperate for many nurses.

In most cases they had just two choices. Either continue working in Spain with the famously named “junk contracts,� while they continuing to study and specialize, or chose to go abroad to look for opportunities. Many of these Spanish nurses started to see jobs opportunities coming from the UK and suddenly they became part of a migratory exodus. The British National Health Service faced a shortage of 15,000 nurses. British Health Secretary Alan Milburn signed an agreement with the Spanish Government enabling a pilot scheme, in which 75 nurses were recruited by hospitals in the North-West. The program was a success, so it was spread nationally.

Between 1 January 2015 and 26 May 2015, 718 nurses from Spain joined the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). That compares with only 31 nurses between 1 December 2006 and 30 November 2007. The numbers have increased tremendously.

There are currently 5,859 Spanish nurses and midwives working in the United Kingdom.

Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive and General Secretary of the RCN explained how trusts are boarding planes to fly around the world and find nursing staff “It shows the urgency of the situation.” However, at the same time, there has been a discussion about immigration in the UK. In repeated polls a majority of the British public named immigration as its top concern. But a study showed that European migrants have contributed £20bn to the British exchequer between 2000 and 2011.

Health care in the UK relies on the hard work and dedication of many nurses who were trained overseas. Britain’s reliance on healthcare professionals from overseas began in the 1950s and hospitals have recruited foreign nurses and doctors ever since, initially from Australia, New Zealand and other countries.

Spain, after years as a leading recipient country of immigration, has seen many young individuals leaving. They are not just simple work force as their grandparents in the 60s, when they went to Switzerland and France, or republicans who were exiled during Franco’s regime. They are part of the best, well prepared generation of Spanish history and they have been forced to go abroad.

London, May 2015.

“I have waited for the PIN number in order to work as a nurse for nearly seven months. It was really frustrating because in that period I could only work as an assistant nurse. That means my salary and responsibilities were not the same as when I was working in Spain. The UK needs a lot of nurses but they do not make the process easier for immigrants. They don’t help us enough.”

Fuensanta Sánchez-Carrasco

“We have shifts of 12.5 hours. Sometimes it becomes very long. I work at the gastroenterology unit. I am surprised that we take our uniforms home and we wash them ourselves. There is no laundry service provided at the hospital for us. I see it as a source of infection. In Spain we have individual lockers and we always change at the hospital, here it is the opposite.�

Regina Carmona

“I work 37.5 hours per week, three days for 12 hours and then we have four days off. We can go back home quite often. With my salary I can save some money but London is more expensive than Spain and we have to share apartments. The atmosphere in the hospital is very different, I miss working with my colleagues and joking around. Here, everyone is more independent.�

Marta Penalva

“I knew English before coming here and I though that England was the most accessible place among the options I was considering. I was tired after two years in Spain with very random contracts but nothing stable, so I decided to come here.

This is a country with lots of opportunities for nurses if you have an acceptable level of English. Adaptation has not been a problem at all.�

Virginia Baena

“I have been here for five years. Nursing is a difficult field in the UK. I’m not enjoying it because we always have to watch everything we do. We have to watch our backs as if we make a single mistake they will take away our PIN number. There is a lot of competition to get a promotion as there are many levels and specializations. Here, we also have a lot of paperwork to do and we spend less time with each patient.”

Jessica Rubio

“The advantage we have as Spanish nurses is that we are certified to do everything as a nurse. And in my case, if something goes wrong I seek ways to solve it. I am very responsive and fast, but I want to improve myself and I have a long way to go. I didn’t come here because of the economic crisis in Spain. I came for the experience and I have no regrets. I wish I had done it earlier.�

Rafa Casa

“My experience working in the UK started being an au pair for two months. Then I got this job in August but I had to work in a clothing store while I was waiting for all the paper work to be ready which took two months. Here, references are really important and they ask for them everywhere. It’s really different working in a hospital in the UK. Irene Alcaraz

“Here many hospitals are private foundations that share services with public hospitals. We have patients from the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the UK. You could say that there is a high level of encouragement and they want you to get promoted but that does not happen in Spain. Here we take care of an average of three patients while in Spain I used to treat around 15.�

Juan Miguel Cutillas

“My first job in the UK was in a care home, I was dealing with people with dementia and it was a very moving time. I experienced moments that I will not forget. After that I started working in the Accident & Emergency Department, which is my real passion. There’s no other feeling than being able to help your patients.”

Saúl Vara

“I work at the Oncology Department. Everything here is a routine, like giving drugs and and chemotherapy. I like the experience but basically I would prefer to be working in Spain. My patients are less critical with nurses here. I feel when patients push you to do your best, you are fresher with knowledge. Also, I used to work with emergencies and that’s a rhythm that I miss a lot.”

Mario Rodríguez

“It is a great experience. Nursing here is very different in terms of techniques and you do have to demonstrate that you are a senior nurse and that they can give you responsibilities. We treat babies from a minimum of 23 weeks, which is pretty low.

All the medication has to be checked by two people before giving it to the patients.

In Spain we don’t double check it so we don’t know how many mistakes are made.”

Victor Ruiz

“I completed the 1,500 hours of training that I needed to graduate in Spain and I wanted to live in a city with movement so I decided to move to London. I arrived a month ago. I found a job offer from this hospital and I was lucky that I got it. It’s a huge place, we are 14,000 employees. During the first two weeks I would lose my way around.”

Juanjo Retu

“Some people in Spain forget that we work with people. If the Spanish government proceeds with the cuts to make the system more profitable I do not know where we will go. I would try to return to Spain, but I love what I do and I know that if I go back I will only be able to do two hours in a hospital and I will need to work in a shop or hotel to afford the expenses.�

Isabel Ranz

“When I started working here a year ago I had a hard time with the patients because I barely spoke English and I couldn’t express myself well. A nurse here starts out doing fewer things than in Spain. The hospitals do not trust us, so we have to go to lots of training before we are allowed to do some treatments and procedures by ourselves.”

Laura Rodríguez

“I want to return to Spain but I can not imagine when that is going to happen.

After three years here you settle down and you think about it, but you always find a few advantages that make you stay longer. I feel being a nurse in Spain is really complicated right now and there is no progress or good salaries for us.�

Neelam Bhardwaj

“In Spain in 2011 I could only work during Christmas or summer and the salaries were around 1,000 euros. Sometimes I was in charge of around 100 patients during night shifts. And to pass the exam to have a position you have to fight with other 9,000 people but there are only 500 positions.”

Mariana Fernández

“To be a midwife here is very natural and normal, but in Spain I tried to pass the exam for two years but there were only 400 places for 9,000 applicants. My rank on the exam was around 600, so that means I did not get a position. I became a midwife after studying here 18 months while I was being paid around £1,800 a month.”

Marisa Gomez

“I have been here for almost 13 years. Many British people do not want to become nurses because they highly value a 9am-5pm schedule. They also think that our jobs are not attractive, that they pay less compared to other salaries in the banking or finance sectors in London. Spanish nurses have to come here with their mind open and adapt to British culture.�

Ana Esquerda

“Back in Madrid in 2008 I had one day contract or two days contracts. The longest I think it was six months because a colleague got sick. Now when I go back, I can feel in the atmosphere that my colleagues are having a hard time and many are still looking for a job and cannot make long-term plans like buying a house or getting married.�

Marta Laina

ÉXODO

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