PR1-20141
PRESS RELEASE ATHENS, GREECE 2014
The 39th Board Meeting of The Federation of Occupational Health Nurses within theEuropean Union (FOHNEU) was held in Athens, Greece19th- 21st October 2014. The meeting washosted by the Hellenic Nurses Association (NNA) andheld at the hotelGolden Age of Athens.The meeting was attendedby 16 participants and few observers from Greece.The FOHNEU Board Meeting participants werewarmly welcomed to Greece by the President of FOHNEU and the Greek NNA. The visiting speakers were IoannisKonstantakopoulos from Ministry of Labour and Anna Korompeli from Faculty of Nursing from the University of Athens and ValiaTsopoki from Unversity of Athens.
In the President´s AddressDr.StylianiTziaferiwelcomed thanked the Board for attending the meeting in historical city of Athens. The President of FOHNEU, StylianiTziaferithanked and expressed hounourto the former President Julie Staun for the opportunityoftaking over FOHNEU Presidency. The President welcomed all National Representatives and the new member from Ireland OHNAI, to the meeting. Greece is hosting the EU Presidency and also an EU-OSHA Conference was held in Athens 19th June. FOHNEU President StylianiTziaferi had an oral presentation about psychosocial risks on workplace during the EU OSHA meeting.
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Highlights from the National Updates
Belgium
Thereareongoingfinancialnegotiationsbetween OH Service providers and the employers in Belgium. A survey aboutOHN´sdevelopment and the contribution of OHN professionisbeing plannedto take place in collaborationbetweenOHN’s and the University Of Leuven.
Denmark
The Ministry of Employment has defined the areas of focus in the Work Environment Strategy2020 plan, which according to the available National research addresses the current OccupationalHealth & Safety problems in the country. The strategy involves goals and priorities supported by 19specific initiatives to be implemented by the Work Environment Authority (WEA). The 4 most important of these initiatives are: Segregating the Risk Inspections to 2 levels, (increased inspections in areas with highrisks) and dialogue with enterprises.
The Government Strategy also includes 3 specific goals:
• 25% reduction in work accidents
• 20% reduction of psychosocial strain
• 20% reduction of musculoskeletal disorders
Nordic Conference arranged by FaSA (Danish OHN Association) is planned to be held in Copenhagen in September 2014. The main themes are The Psychosocial Work Environment and Working Life for Senior Employees.
Finland
The Occupational Health Decree is renewed by the Ministry of Social and Welfare and becoming valid on 1st January 2014. It emphasizes case management and work ability maitenance. FAOHN has given a statement concerning OHN education renewal process to the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs.
France
There´s ongoing an Assessmentof the 2012 Occupational Health Reform.The governance, multidisciplinary functioning, authorizations and contract agreements are evaluated in during the assessment process. A meeting with the Work General Directorate was held in Paris on 5thFebruary. Three members of the GIT (French Association of OHN´s) Board did participate in the meeting.
Greece
Greece has the EU Presidency for the first trimester of 2014. During this various conferences have been organised and one in relation to Occupational Health is planned for 16-17 of June, just before the FOHNEU meeting, where StylianiTziaferi will participated and gave an oral presentation about Psychosocial Risks at Work. In relation to the consequences resulting from the financial crisis there is no news regarding changes in employment/unemployment rates in Greece so far.
Hungary
According to a statement from the human resources ministry, the government increased the salaries of Occupational health nurses, who are working as employees at publicly financed health care providers, owned by the state. The salaries of OHN´s vary according to the competence from 388-537 euros.
Ireland
The Annual INMO OHN conference was held in Dublin on Thursday 10th April theme “Occupational Health – Empowering through Knowledge and Expertise”The INMO (The Irish Nurses and Midwifes Organization) OHN Section continues to run OH related workshops at a regional level.INMO are currently running a Campaign to address “Bullying in the Workplace”. Academic and practitioner evidence suggests that nurses and midwives working in Ireland continue to frequently experience workplace bullying.
The Netherlands
V&VN (Dutch Nurses Association) made a bid for organizing in co-operation with FOHNEU the next FOHNEU Congress in 2016 in the Netherlands, in Rotterdam. The FOHNEU Board voted for the bid at the FOHNEU Board meeting in Athens.
Sweden
Sweden reported that the longer working careers are in main focus for the government considering OSH. University of Örebro has, as the first university in Sweden, established a Specialist Nursing Programme – Occupational Health Nurse, 60 Credits with a Postgraduate Diploma in Specialist Nursing – Occupational Health Nurse starting in Autumn 2015. The Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at Örebro University Hospital will have a prominent role in this education programme.
The next FOHNEU Board Meeting will take place in
Dusseldorf, Germany, in 26th-29th November 2014.
Established 1993Reg.14230/96