The health sector plays a key role in ensuring decent living conditions for all European citizens. In times of demographic change, the health sector is more and more important. Despite this, the economic crisis has been felt harshly in many European member states when it comes to quality and availability of health care services. In many countries, hospitals are being closed or privatised with health insurers cutting back on service provision. Eastern European member states are suffering from a brain drain of young qualified medical staff who are leaving due to worsening working conditions. CESI is working to strengthen the health sector in Europe and to ensure that high-quality, sustainable health care is guaranteed for Europe’s citizens. These goals can only be achieved by investing in people and by offering incentives to people to pursue a career in the health sector. In 2026, the Expert Commission will focus on topics including advocacy on:
- sustainable and resilient health systems and an EU health workforce crisis plan
- addressing medical and nursing staff shortages to create a minimum patient-staff ratios
- addressing occupational health and safety/physical and digital safety from violence/wellbeing and psychosocial risks which health professionals ares ubjected to in their workplaces
- creating a more coherent EU framework for addressing long-term care workforce challenges, and achieving improved employment conditions for care workers in private households and in domestic workers’ conditions.
- closing gender gaps in the health care sector and fostering inclusiveness in employment through better education and employment of health care workers with disabilities
- needs assessments on the creation and adjustment of study courses in medicine and nursing
- the possibility ot early hardship retirements in the health and care sector
- activities of the European Parliament Intergroupon Resilience, DisasterManagement and Civil Protection – from the perspective of health and care services
The work of the Expert Commission informs CESI’s positioning in the European Social Dialogue Committee in Social Services.
