Never has the Regional Health Board had so many medical staff under employment at one time, but even so, there is a worrying shortage, especially in Granada.

In the Province of Granada, at the moment, if you are a fully qualified doctor or nurse, you will be snapped up if you are looking for a job in Primary Health Care, or PHC, in the public sector. One of the main reasons for this shortage is that so many have become ill or are in quarantine.

So where are the much needed replacements? The answer is that many of them have gone to other provinces. In fact, more trained medical staff have left the province than the whole of last year: 129 vs 110. Although the difference is around 13% it does not fully account for the shortage.

And then there is the private sector that has an added attraction given that in recent years the sort of public-sector contracts offered to aspirants are far from attractive, both in duration and salary. When you can only get a contract of employment of only one month (renewable) it doesn’t offer much stability.

So, we have a cocktail of a sector where there is a high attrition rate, offering unstable employment battling a health situation that requires trained and plentiful manpower.

(News: Granada, Andalucia)