Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Nursing Personnel Convention, 1977 (No. 149) - Lithuania (Ratification: 2007)

Article 2(1) of the Convention. National policy concerning nursing services and nursing personnel. The Committee understands that a new Health Programme 2011–20 has been established and that Lithuania has entered into a biennial collaborative agreement 2012–13 with the WHO/Europe, which aims to raise the level of health. The Committee requests the Government to provide up to-date information on the implementation of these programmes, particularly as regards their impact on the quality of nursing services and the employment conditions of nursing personnel. Moreover, the Committee recalls its previous comment in which it noted the persistent challenges of nursing migration and requested the Government to indicate any measures or initiatives to reverse the emigration trend. The Committee understands that the emigration of nurses and doctors – basically in the search of better pay conditions – continues unabated, mainly towards European countries such as Denmark, the United Kingdom, Norway, Germany and Sweden. It also understands that, in some cases, nurses do not formally emigrate but travel to neighbouring countries to work for four weeks before returning home for two weeks off. The Committee further understands that there are serious limitations regarding migration statistics and that the use of the number of certificates of competency as an indication of the scale of the outflow is not a reliable tool. Realizing that in the long run migration of qualified nurses puts the national health care system at risk, and that this question calls for coordinated action both by countries of origin and host countries, the Committee requests the Government to provide up-to-date information – including all available statistics – on the situation of nursing migration and any policies or projects implemented in this area.