Healthy Europe asked three prominent decision-makers why Europe’s health systems are facing a crisis. Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, Sandra Gallina, Director-General, European Commission Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, and Johannes Rauch, Federal Minister of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection, Austria, responded.
Health workforce
Despite their many differences, all countries in the WHO European Region are suffering from a shortage of healthcare workers, an issue that has been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The WHO is proposing collective long-term action.
Michael West, Professor of Organisational Psychology at Lancaster University, explains why humans are compassionate beings and why this should play a key role for managers in the healthcare sector.
Data, facts and figures on professions with a workforce shortage, the migration of health personnel and the rise in staffing levels in the WHO European Region.
Health promotion in hospitals is a good way of attracting new employees as well. National and regional networks are helping to implement measures.
Buurtzorg, the self-managed healthcare service in the Netherlands, is considered a model of success. It demonstrates how the structures in the health system can be improved for the benefit of patients and employees.
An interview with Herwig Ostermann, Managing Director of Gesundheit Österreich GmbH, on the crisis faced by the health systems, potential solutions, and the concept Health for all Policies.
Nurses are by far the largest group in the healthcare profession, accounting for approximately 59 percent of the workforce. Significantly improving their working conditions is the key to making health systems in Europe and around the world more resilient and better prepared for future challenges.