Andrea Krammel (picture above) was not even retired for three months. At the beginning of October, the nurse and ward manager at the State Clinic in Korneuburg retired, and since the beginning of December she has been returning to her old work on a regular basis. She is one of six former employees who help out in the hospital. “When the call came, I didn’t think twice,” says Krammel.
About a month ago, the State Health Agency started contacting doctors and qualified nursing staff who retired on January 1, 2017. These are around 1,000 people. According to the State Health Agency, 50 former retirees have returned to work. How long they work and what tasks they take on differ from location to location.
Former head of department supports colleagues
Andrea Krammel used to work in various outpatient clinics in the Korneuburg hospital, then organized the duty rosters and processes as a manager. As a minor activity, she now supports the test center of the hospital. The staff is PCR tested at least once a week. In the past few weeks, Krammel took hundreds of nasal and throat swabs from her colleagues. “Even with patients who have not been tested, and otherwise I do everything that is needed.”
In return, she restricts her private contacts again so as not to endanger anyone in the hospital. As a department head, she has long seen how difficult it is to create duty rosters during the pandemic. New Covid stations were opened, staff withdrawn from other departments, because a Covid patient needs more than a nurse. Additional company bikes were introduced. Donning and changing protective equipment takes time. These working conditions burden.
And leave traces. In the phases when fewer Covid patients had to be treated in Korneuburg, waves of sick leave set in among staff, explains Erich Glaser, the nursing director of the Korneuburg-Stockerau State Hospital: “We had a lot of sick days, K1 secretions, then Covid-infected and others Diseases. The stressful situation is reflected, these were difficult times that had to be overcome and the employees who remained still take a lot on themselves. “
Commitments after a “call for help”
The six returning nurses are therefore welcome. Glaser called them all personally. “I made a call for help and there were positive promises very quickly. We are grateful for every help we receive. ”The remuneration of the returned employees is based on the last gross monthly salary, depending on the working hours.
They also bring relief to everyone else. A lot of flexibility has been demanded of the staff for two years: “The duty roster is constantly being rearranged, jumping in, employees are being sent to other areas of activity. It is not an easy situation, most of them have families with children, so it is difficult to plan properly. “
“It is good to be retired”
There are also threatening letters, aggressive visitors who do not want to see that the relative is sick with Covid-19 and demonstrations in front of hospitals. Andrea Krammel speaks of an additional burden and difficulty for everyone: “Why do you rush at nursing staff and verbally abuse employees or demonstrate in front of hospitals? The nursing staff cannot do anything about the pandemic or the compulsory vaccination. We do our work as well as possible, that is enough of a challenge. “
She will initially help out in Korneuburg for six months. If a new wave comes from the Omikron variant, she can also imagine staying longer. “But it is a relief to know that I don’t have to come every day. I’m coming to help, but it’s good to be retired. “