Long-term carer: “In the long run you just can’t handle it anymore”

For one day, Schmied forgets about her worries and sorrows in her work – nursing. It is June 14, 2019 – the day of the women’s strike, which will later make history as the largest mobilization in Switzerland. Across the country, about half a million women are taking to the streets to demand equality and better working conditions.

Surrounded by the crowd on the Kornhausbrücke in Bern, Sandra Schmied dances. The bridge vibrates to loud music. The concentrated energy gives the long-term care specialist goosebumps. She is confident: the young people are loud, they can make a difference, they dare.

Her generation has never rebelled so strongly. “Especially in my work, in nursing, you used to hardly dare to act against abuses, defend yourself if you felt you were being treated unfairly,” says the 53-year-old over a cup of coffee in her hometown of Bern.

With 33 years of professional experience, Schmied has been committed to better working conditions in healthcare for more than 10 years. The current system “have nüm”, says the city of Bern. She knows from painful personal experience how enormously the healthcare system has changed in recent decades.

«When I started my education in the 1980s, a positive change took place. I’ve seen houses with rooms with 8 beds. Fortunately, the minimum level of care of ‹warm, full and clean› was abandoned and the needs of the elderly were adapted. People started taking care of people instead of just taking care of them.”

This is how the love for the profession was born, which Schmied has not been able to part with to this day, but which becomes more unbearable every year: “We used to have enough time to take care of the patients. In the morning we took care of the elderly, in the afternoon we went for a walk, to the circus or we cooked together.”

With the current healthcare scarcity, there is no time for healthcare. “We don’t have the resources to build a relationship with the elderly. There is only enough time for maintenance. As a result, people vegetate all day long.”

With glassy eyes, the old nurse says, “It’s miserable. You just can’t take it in the long run.”

Recently, the tough resident of Bern also came to a dead end. Too much overtime. Too many shifts. Too much pressure. And too little proximity to the patients. She took a sabbatical and career counseling. A few years ago, it would hardly have been possible for Schmid to take a break from work. «As a single mother, I had to live on the border with the working poor for years. Until my son’s education, I just had to function – as a caretaker and as a mother. That was hard.”

For Sandra Schmied, being a mother is the most beautiful thing in the world. She says proudly: “He recently completed his apprenticeship as a polymechanic.” A sector that also suffers from a shortage of skilled workers, but is paid much better than healthcare: “My son has just finished his education, works temporarily and, with my 33 years of professional experience, earns much better than me.”

“How does it work?”

“That makes me angry.”

Despite this injustice, Schmid remains faithful to her work – for the sake of the elderly. And because there is still some hope in her, especially by accepting the care initiative. The law, which is expected to come into force in mid-2024, should improve working conditions and development opportunities in nursing.

However, the dedicated nurse does not want to wait. She sees it as her task to make society and politicians aware of how poor healthcare is in times of growing and aging populations.

“The thought that my mother will soon have to be cared for in a nursing home scares me because I know what the conditions are like there.” As an example, she tells of an incident that just happened: “A few days ago, a woman died who had been alone in her room for days. She had no family. Such people should be guided so that they can let go, say goodbye to life and die in peace.”

The native of Bern could cite hundreds of such examples. There is not only a lack of time in the homes, but also in acute care. So it doesn’t just affect the older generation. “It’s like a rat’s tail. If we don’t take good care of old and/or sick people, they languish. This is also reflected in the strong increase in mental illnesses.”

Sandra Schmied is one of those women you want by your side in the last phase of life. Despite the pressure, she tries to bring a touch of lightness into everyday life for the patients. “Singing has amazing effects on the psyche and releases endorphins.” So she sings a song for the elderly during the break or during the care and they can hum along. It’s amazing what you can achieve with little things. She gives an example: “Recently I had to take care of a withdrawn woman with dementia. We had a drink together and then sang a song together. The next day she took my hand and said, ‘I’m so glad you’re here’.”

But even for these little things there is hardly time. And every year the beautiful moments in the nursing profession would become rarer.

Brain drain within the industry worries Schmid the most. “Especially young people who have completed a nursing course turn their backs on nursing immediately after training. After three years they have had enough and are looking for a job with more flexible working hours.”

In the eyes of Sandra Schmied, this exodus of young people has nothing to do with the current generation, which is said to be lazy and work-shy, but above all with exhaustion. “A newly qualified nurse recently complained to me that she often works six days a week – in different shifts: two early shifts, three late shifts, one night shift. Where is the relaxation in that? It drains you completely.”

For Sandra Schmied it is clear: this has to stop.

That’s what she fights for. For years she has been reporting on the downsides of her day-to-day work and calling for reform. That is why the resident of Bern had to pay bitterly: she was fired twice when she pointed out to her employers that the conditions in the care were unacceptable. “I was too loud for them, too demanding, of course that was interpreted differently when they were fired.”

Because of this, she did not let herself down and does not let herself down, on the contrary. The feminist also points out abuses for which she has already been labeled a racist. “I’m for justice, so I have to address uncomfortable issues,” says Schmied.

“Unfortunately, workers from abroad cannot fill the gap in the health system. First, because the shortage of nurses is a global problem. The nurses are simply missing elsewhere. Secondly, due to the language barrier, mistakes happen time and time again, for example when providing medicines. And thirdly, many elderly people, who otherwise find it difficult to express themselves, feel misunderstood due to the communication problems.”

For the nurse there is a central solution to the complex problem: a new financing plan that creates new jobs. And to retain the workforce in the long term, better working conditions should be created. The focus is not on salary, but on appreciation and reducing psychological stress.

“The profession should be recognized, overtime or short-term substitutions should be avoided or paid generously, and dressing room time should be taken into account.” In nursing professions you have to change clothes about four times a day, which takes about 30 minutes that are not counted as working time.

“I never hear a thank you, just one: Would you really…?”

“That’s frustrating.” Still, the fight is worth it. “When I talk to the union, I notice that something is moving. I just don’t feel and see it (yet).»