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 2025, the Expert Commission will focus on topics including:
- Advocacy on sustainable health systems and an EU health workforce crisis plan, including dimensions related to employment and working conditions
- Creating a more coherent EU framework for addressing long-term care workforce challenges; achieving improved employment conditions for care workers in private households and in domestic workers’ conditions
- Closing the gender care gap
- Addressing medical staff shortages to create a minimum European patient-staff ratio