New report highlights shortage of 1.2 million doctors and nurses in EU

The European Commission and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have highlighted the severe health workforce shortage in the European Union in a new report. The EU had 4.2 doctors per 1,000 inhabitants in 2022, Belgium specifically 3.6 doctors per 1,000 inhabitants.

According to the “Health at a Glance” report, all the European Union member states combined were estimated to be short of approximately 1.2 million doctors, nurses and midwives in 2022. The ageing of the population as well as that of the health workforce itself is making it increasingly difficult to meet the demands of the population.

“Over one‑third of doctors and a quarter of nurses in the EU are aged over 55 and expected to retire in the coming years,” state the experts in the report. Belgium exceeds the European average of 35 per cent as far as doctors are concerned. 42 per cent of Belgian doctors were 55 or older in 2022.

After the Covid pandemic, European countries resumed recruitment of health workers abroad. In fact, in 2022 and 2023, there seems to have been a veritable boom. In 2023, for example, more than 50 per cent of nurses in Ireland was trained abroad. So were 4.4 per cent of nurses and 13.5 per cent of doctors in Belgium, figures slightly higher than the European average.

Overall, in 2022, the EU had 4.2 doctors per 1,000 inhabitants in 2022 and Belgium 3.6 doctors per 1,000 inhabitants. There is a decreasing proportion of generalists, which in time threatens to lead to a lack of GPs in remote areas. In the EU, an average of one doctor in five was a generalist in 2022. Belgium, where 34 per cent were generalists, is one of the countries that managed to maintain a balance.

The authors advocate a multi-pronged approach to combat the shortage. According to them, “improving working conditions and remuneration are critical to increasing the attractiveness of the profession and retaining current health workers”. In addition, “increasing education and training opportunities for new doctors and nurses is also vital to boost supply”. The experts further advocate “harnessing digital technologies and AI to augment health worker productivity and enable them to focus more on patient care”.

^{A doctor examining a patient in a doctor's office in Brussels © BELGA PHOTO Xavier Lejeune/ HANS ​ LUCAS COLLECTION}