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Europe’s health workforce is under pressure – European Cancer Organisation

European Cancer Organisation/woncaeurope.org

Feb 17, 2025, 06:16

Europe’s health workforce is under pressure – European Cancer Organisation

European Cancer Organisation shared a post on LinkedIn by Andras Kulja, Member of the European Parliament, adding:

“Europe’s health workforce is under pressure – and we must act now.

As MEP Andras Kulja rightly stated in the European Parliament this week:

‘At European level we need to act together. If we fail to act together, this will have consequences on people’s health, and it could lead to a disaster.’

ECO fully supports this call for action and welcomes the debate on tackling urgent labour shortages and securing quality jobs in the healthcare sector.

Through our Cancer Workforce Crisis Campaign, we are calling on the European Commission and the European Parliament to develop a comprehensive Cancer Workforce Action Plan, which includes:

Creating healthy work environments that support the mental and physical well-being of professionals.
Investing in skills and knowledge to ensure patients benefit from the latest advancements in cancer care and treatment.
Strengthening career development and professional support for the workforce.
Implementing harmonised, fully digitised healthcare systems to reduce bureaucratic burdens.

We will continue working with policymakers like Andras in our efforts to drive and support a European response to this crisis.”

Quoting Andras Kulja’s post below:

“Europe is facing a healthcare crisis!
Right now, 1.5 million healthcare and social professionals are missing from European systems. In just five years, this gap will grow to 4 million, leaving us with:

600,000 fewer doctors
2.3 million fewer nurses
1.1 million fewer social workers

The impact is devastating, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, where hospitals, pediatric surgery units, and specialist care centers are shutting down due to staff shortages. In Hungary alone, nearly 1,000 GP practices are unfilled, leaving 1.5 million people without access to basic care. Meanwhile, the average age of general practitioners is 60, with no new workforce in sight.

As I stated at the European Parliament during my Plenary intervention, we cannot afford to treat this as a national issue alone. A European-level response is urgently needed! We must act together to:

Prioritize healthcare workforce retention and training.
Invest in cross-border healthcare solutions and digital health innovations.
Support policies that ensure accessible and sustainable healthcare for all Europeans.

I welcome the upcoming joint report of the Committee of Employment and Social Affairs and Committee of Public Health that will address the challenges of health workforce shortages.
If we don’t act now, we are heading toward a full-scale crisis—one that will affect millions of lives. It’s time for collective action at the EU level.”