Health: in the EU the challenge of the shortage of doctors and nurses. Kyriakides: “Attract them from third countries”

Brussels – Europe has a serious problem with healthcare. There is a shortage of doctors, nurses, and hospital assistants. It is nothing new — and in Brussels, they know it — but health remains a national competence for which the European Commission can do very little. For what it can, the EU executive calls on member states to ‘fish’ abroad. “The Commission is supporting Member States in attracting talent from third countries,” stresses Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health, who warns, “The shortage of health and social care workers represents a significant challenge;” a challenge to which national governments must respond. 

The ‘time bomb’ is already ticking: the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates the shortage of health and social workers in Europe alone at 1.6 million by 2024, a figure set to hit 4 million by 2030. The snapshot taken by the WHO indicates that if the course is not reversed, by 2030, there will be a shortage of 600,000 doctors, 2.3 million nurses, and 1.1 million social and welfare workers and auxiliaries in the Old Continent.

It is a problem for a continent where population aging is already happening, with all the economic-productive implications it entails. Not only that, an aging population implies a greater need for care, which, however, will not be provided by a non-existent system that is up to the member states to restore. This is especially true for Italy, the EU member state with the oldest population.

Regarding Italy, Mario Mantovani and Ruggero Razza, MEPs from Fratelli d’Italia (ECR), a formation that espouses crystal clear lines on immigration, brought up the question of the challenge of the shortage of medical personnel. It’s to them that Kyrikides responds,  suggesting to work to “transform the risk of brain drain into a brain gain.” That means attracting foreigners. And she recommends reminding the government and majority that you can always make reforms and investments. “Cohesion policy funds and the Recovery Facility can support complementary, country-specific actions.” After all, public health and sanitation are national competencies. Italy should also get its act together.