Pak Sahafat – In a report titled “A Time Bomb: Health Care Across Western Europe is Under Threat”, The Guardian newspaper writes that the public health situation in this region has faced severe problems that are getting worse day by day.
According to Pak Sahafat News Agency’s report, quoting from this English newspaper, for decades, the national healthcare systems of Western Europe have been regarded as one of the best in the world. However, these days the evidence points to another issue.
The increase in the number of the elderly population, chronic diseases, the continuation of the crisis in the recruitment of new people working in the field of health, the increase in the number of corona patients, this winter has faced a storm of health problems in the Western Europe region, which is expected to become more severe.
In a report earlier this year, the World Health Organization in the European region, pointing to the severe problems in the recruitment of active workers in the field of health and the lack of employees in this field, warned of the worsening of the situation and asked the governments to take measures as soon as possible.
For example, the number of doctors in France has decreased compared to 2012. More than 6 million people of this country, including 600,000 people, suffer from chronic diseases and do not have regular access to a doctor. Also, more than 30% of this population does not have access to proper health services.
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Last year, there were 35,000 job opportunities in the field of providing health services in Elman, which is a 40% increase compared to a decade ago. Also, by 2035, more than a third of all healthcare jobs in Germany will be vacant, and this country will face a severe shortage of healthcare workers.
Finland is no exception to this rule and faces a shortage of 200,000 healthcare workers by 2030.
The Ministry of Health in Spain has also announced that more than 700,000 people in this country are on the waiting list for surgery. Also, more than 5,000 general specialists and pediatricians in Madrid have gone on strike in protest of years of lack of funds and overwork.
This report adds: in a third of Western European countries, at least 40% of doctors are 55 or older. Also, currently, younger doctors do not show a desire to work in remote areas and villages, and this issue has faced serious problems in the health system in Western Europe.
Hans Klug, the regional head of the World Health Organization in Europe, believes that the current health situation in Europe is like a ticking time bomb, which is likely to lead to inappropriate health conditions, long waiting times for patients, and an increase in preventable deaths.