A 27-year-old nurse from the Bonn University Hospital (UKB) told the GA that she loves her job, "but in recent years the emergency in nursing has become more and more acute. We are at the limit. Something has to change. That's what we're fighting for." She does not want to see her name published.

The young woman sees the main problem in the fact that the wards are understaffed. The situation is similar in the operating theatres. Here, one nurse often has to look after several wards at the same time. "We are constantly prioritising which patient to care for first. I am afraid that I will make a wrong decision under this pressure and be late for a patient," says the 27-year-old. What she regrets most is that for many patients she can only take care of the existential things. The interpersonal aspects fall by the wayside. In addition, she hardly has time to train new trainees.

The fact that the workload in a shift is too great is also reflected in the fact that there is often no time for a proper break. "I bite into my bread, and then a patient rings the bell. Of course I go to him immediately. Often there is no one else around," says the nurse. The atmosphere on the wards is therefore often tense. Switching off after work is increasingly difficult and takes longer and longer.

She can understand the displeasure of the patients because of the strike: "Even if all vital operations continue to be carried out: Cancellations and longer waiting times are not excusable." At the hospital, however, there is never a convenient time for a strike, she said. "We are not only fighting for ourselves, but also for the patients.“

Due to the closure of some wards, about 30 operations are currently postponed every day in Bonn. Hardtberg district mayor Christian Trützler is one of those affected. "My operation on 18 May could not take place. It is annoying," said Trützler. Especially as he wants to go to the Wave Gothic Festival in Leipzig, for which he has already bought a ticket, shortly after the alternative date for 1 June. But Trützler shows understanding for the strike. The local politician has been in a wheelchair since a poisoning while on holiday, and as a result is often in treatment at the Venusberg. "Many nursing staff have already told me about their stressful working day. And I think it's right that there should now be negotiations on how to improve the situation for them.“

As the chairman of the board of the Bonn University Hospital, Wolfgang Holzgreve, said, the situation is worsening because for weeks now the work has been weighing more heavily on the shoulders of those who are not taking part in the strike: "At the moment, at the six university hospitals, i.e. Aachen, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Bonn, Münster, Essen, more than 2,000 beds are closed, of which almost 200 at the UKB." This is a "very serious situation, because it means that one university hospital cannot refer patients to others". The top priority is "to take care of all the patients who need us". Of course, the right to strike is respected. "But on the other hand, it is equally clear that we cannot allow even a single person to have their health damaged by the strike.“

Holzgreve also said that the goals of Verdi, the workers and the UKB itself were similar. Both Holzgreve and the deputy director of nursing at the UKB, Nadia Storm, explained that the university hospital recruits specialist staff at home and abroad. The UKB works together with a language school and has built its own training building on the campus. The university hospital hires service staff to relieve nurses. "We don't have a hiring freeze either, and continue to look for good nursing staff," Storm said.

The shortage of skilled workers and the resulting job vacancy is one of the main problems that not only university hospitals but also hospitals under other ownership have to deal with. Since the NRW state government has just announced its withdrawal from the collective bargaining community of the federal states by cabinet decision, the six NRW university hospitals could negotiate directly with the employees and the Verdi trade union in future. "Not all the foundations have been laid for this yet. We hope that the strike will end quickly," said Holzgreve.

At present, he said, the UKB and Verdi are in regular contact and have reached an emergency service agreement to maintain basic services. The CEO assumes that the talks already underway will be led by Verdi in a similar direction as was the case at the Berlin hospitals Charité and Vivantes. There, stricter staffing sub-limits were set for bed-managed wards and a points account was set up for the staff in case they fell below these sub-limits. The points are compensated to the staff with time off.

Another aspect would be improvements in practical training. According to Holzgreve, some of the points that were part of the negotiations in Berlin have already been fulfilled at the university hospital in Bonn. "The problem, however, is of course that the increase in the lower staffing limits in particular will once again increase the shortage of skilled workers," said Holzgreve. The setting of staffing floors, the UKB board chairman emphasised, varies from ward to ward, from shift to shift. Expert committees deal with this. A joint federal committee sets them under "very strict rules based on evidence“.

Verdi union secretary Arno Appelhoff said on Tuesday that the union and the workers wanted a quick end to the strike. As long as there is no solution, the industrial action will continue.