The COVID-19 pandemic has tested the resilience of our healthcare systems – and too many failed. Long before this crisis, CESI has been advocating for building resilient public health systems by first addressing one of the most important impediments: the understaffing of the healthcare workforce.

On the so-called ‘European Immunization Week’, this deficiency must be highlighted -yet- again: In the EU-28, the shortfall of health workers in the overall sector was estimated at 1.6 million in 2013 and is predicted to grow to 4.1 million by 2030.

Understaffing risks and real consequences for both the workforce (in terms of stress, illness, absenteeism), patients (in terms of morbidity and mortality) and the sustainability of public finance and public health systems (in terms of long-term economic costs).

And, as commonly known, the most important factors that lead to staff shortages in the health sector are inadequate employment and working conditions, as well as an ageing of the workforce and of the population in general.

To address the causes of understaffing of nurses and mitigate its adverse consequences, CESI has brought forward the following demands:

1. The establishment of a target of a common average nurse/doctor-patient quota in the EU Member States.
2. An increased consideration of the needs of a sustainable in the EU’s financial and economic governance to allow Member States to finance this without being penalised by the Stability and Growth Pact.
3. A tangible improvement of the working conditions, pay and recognition of healthcare staff – not least to attract and retain dedicated and qualified workforce in a sector of such fundamental societal importance.
4. EU funding for social partners and trade unions for awareness-raising campaigns to raise public appreciation for the healthcare professions.
5. A new of focus on EU cohesion policy, pre-accession assistance and neighborhood policy to reduce ‘push factors’ for healthcare leading them to seek employment in richer areas and countries.

For more information CESI has prepared a more elaborated position paper on the topic, which is politically endorsed by CESI member organizations as of March 2021 (CESI_position paper_understaffing of nurses_EN_2021).