Doctor shortage prompts EU Commission to explore faster recognition of professional qualifications

Brussels – The European Union is facing a shortage of doctors, and the overly fragmented and cumbersome system for recognising qualifications is exacerbating an increasingly structural problem that the European Commission is beginning to address. The EU executive, the Executive Vice-President for Skills and Quality Jobs, Roxana Minzatu, admits “the Commission is considering measures — including through digitalisation — to modernise procedures for recognition of qualifications to access regulated professions, including medical professions.“

The issue of the recognition of professional qualifications is not new, which is why the EU Court of Auditors has called for decisive action to enable a truly functioning single market. Now, MEP Jan Farský (EPP) is raising the issue again with his parliamentary question on the shortage of doctors and medical staff. “Lengthy recognition procedures, fragmented national systems, and slow access to postgraduate education and certification continue to delay the integration of qualified doctors into EU healthcare systems,” the EPP representative said. This situation “creates structural barriers to workforce mobility and limits the EU’s capacity to respond to healthcare staff shortages in a timely and coordinated manner.” 

The shortage of doctors and medical staff is not a new issue either. The European Parliament’s think tank estimated a shortfall of 1.2 million doctors, nurses, and midwives across the EU. These figures need to be revised upwards, as they are based on 2022 data and relate to a situation that has not changed since then. This is because the situation in wards and departments is exacerbated by the ageing population, “which affects both patients and healthcare staff (over a third of doctors and a quarter of nurses are over 55).”

 https://www.eunews.it/2021/02/26/invecchiamento-demografico-allue-servono-11-milioni-operatori-socio-sanitari-piu-entro-2030/