The shortage of caregivers is widespread, extended to the whole world. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there will be a shortage of 15 million health professionals by 2030. While low-income countries are particularly affected, all countries, regardless of their level of development, face challenges in training, recruiting and distributing their workforce.
The trend has been known for several years and the causes are well identified: the world population is aging, which will require more and more care, as will the increase in chronic diseases, while at the same time health personnel is not renewed enough following retirements, and that training capacities are limited.
All of this has, moreover, been reinforced and aggravated by the health crisis linked to Covid-19. A WHO study published in July shows that at the start of the epidemic, in Europe, hospital services, dental care and mental health services were the most disrupted. From now on, primary care and emergency care are paying for the consequences of the crisis. All European countries are affected by this disorganization of care and the shortage of caregivers. Overview of the main issues in the region.
- In Germany, massive use of foreign labor
In Germany, the shortage of nursing staff is not a new problem, but it has worsened in recent years. According to a recent study carried out by the Competence Center for Skilled Workers for the German Ministry of Economics, more than 35,000 vacancies were unfilled across the sector at the end of 2021, an increase of around 40% in space. of a decade.
“The situation of staff in our hospitals, our retirement homes and our care centers is deteriorating visibly. If nothing is done, the system risks collapsing”alerted the president of the Federal Chamber of Physicians, Klaus Reinhardt, during the last annual congress of the profession, in November 2021.
Faced with this shortage, the use of foreign labor is massive. Across the Rhine, one in five practicing doctors was born abroad. Syrians form the largest group with 5,000 doctors. In retirement homes, more than a third of nursing assistants and nurses come from abroad, mainly from Eastern and Southern European countries, but also from Vietnam and the Philippines.
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