Nurses, celebrations and mourning for Covid's heroes

About 12,000 nurses were infected with the new coronavirus, 39 died, of whom 4 died by committing suicide. Always on the front line and too often without adequate protection, nurses are paying dearly the price of the Covid emergency in Italy, and beyond. The International Nurse's Day is dedicated to their role, which is celebrated worldwide and rigorously online, today 12 May, the 200th anniversary of the birth, in Florence, of Florence Nightingale, founder of modern nursing.

    Nurses, according to the words of the director of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, "are the backbone of any health system and today, many of them are at the forefront of the battle against Covid-19". And their profession was the one most affected during the emergency, with about 12,000 infections, according to the data of the National Federation of Nursing Professions (Fnopi), of which 60% was registered in Lombardy, 10% in Emilia Romagna, 8% in Veneto. "They have lived these months - explains President Fnopi Barbara Mangiacavalli - in extremely harsh working conditions, physically and emotionally. Between the fear of getting sick or transmitting the virus to loved ones and for this reason in many cases away for weeks from children and family. Next to patients until the last breath but also victims of discrimination, precisely for the work they have done. As in the case of the nurse from Lucca, who was seen delivering a note with written: thanks for the Covid that brings us every day ".

    Their role will also be important in Phase 2, which should be more focused on the territorial management of Sars-Cov-2 cases through the Special Continuity Assistance Units (Usca). A context in which the role of the family nurse, who brings health care to the patient's home, be it chronically ill or Covid-19, instead of the patient in the hospital, could be experimented. "A figure foreseen by a bill presented in the Senate and by the Pact for Health 2019-21 - explains Mangiacavalli - and which, in the regions where it is fully operational, such as Tuscany and Friuli Venezia Giulia, has led to reduced hospitalizations and improper access to the emergency room ".

    Between 2013 and 2018, the number of nurses worldwide, according to WHO, increased by 4.7 million. But this still leaves a global shortage of 5.9 million. In Italy, after years of cuts in healthcare and blocking staff turnover, at least 53 thousand are missing, especially in the southern regions, which have been subject to plans to recover from the health deficit.

    In 2020, the international year dedicated to nurses and midwives, the theme chosen by the International Nurses Council is "Nurses: a voice that guides - health for all". For the occasion, all over the world, despite the lockdown, on 12 May, web initiatives, virtual photographic exhibitions, conferences on air and, at 8.30 pm, the lighting of the Institute for infectious diseases Spallanzani in Rome are scheduled, symbol of the fight against Covid: gift offered by the British Embassy to celebrate the bicentenary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, which took place in 1820. The unpublished song "Perfect" by the musician Paolo Fresu will be dedicated to her, which will be presented during the live web on Fnopi website and social channels, where the #NoiConGliInfermieri fundraising campaign will also be relaunched.