The European Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) and Committee on Public Health (SANT), on Wednesday 3 June, approved, by 85 votes to three with two abstentions, an own-initiative report on the projected shortage in the EU of almost one million staff by 2030, including nurses and doctors.
MEPs are calling on the European Commission to make proposals so that the number of health professionals increases by at least one million over the next seven years.
They also want proposals to improve employment and working conditions, and measures to attract more young people into health professions, such as European funding for scholarships.
The adopted text also insists on fair remuneration, mental health support and the need for high-quality training for health staff. They want an obligatory framework recognising understaffing as an occupational hazard.
They are also calling on the Commission to “monitor and ensure the compliance with the European Working Time Directive, since one in four doctors, in particular junior doctors, and one in 10 nurses work more than 50 hours per week, which leads to exhaustion, burnout and higher risk of medical errors”.
The report also mentions telemedicine and AI-supported diagnostics, which can help healthcare staff in rural areas. In this regard, it calls on the Commission to make a proposal on algorithmic management in the workplace as part of the future Quality Jobs Act.
Link to the report: https://aeur.eu/f/m5l (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)