Greater health protection of health workers being sought. | Efe

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The COIBA College of Nursing in the Balearics is calling on the government to take measures to protect the health of nurses, given the "very worrying" increase in health workers infected with Covid that could bring about a collapse of the health system. The high number of nurses and other health professionals with Covid could leave the health system without enough personnel.

The exponential increase in the number of infections has meant an explosion in demand at health centres and in hospitals. Nurses are being overstretched, and with the loss of staff due to contagion or isolation, the situation "could become unsustainable".

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The College wants measures to protect the health of staff in order that they are able to attend to people's health. Advocating "greater foresight and better planning,", the nurses professional body argues the case for reviewing "social limitations". It also believes that a review of current protocols is necessary as they are "not in accordance with measures being applied socially".

The president, María José Sastre says: "If social restrictions are minimal, we have to be consistent and not overload the health system with complex protocols and procedures, which overwhelm and exhaust professionals after two years of pandemic." Eliminating administrative protocols "would allow nurses to focus on the most serious cases and maintain as much of primary care activity as possible".

COIBA notes that, according to the latest figures, 613 health professionals in the Balearics are infected with Covid and another 146 are being monitored.