Europe’s healthcare systems are under strain due to the dual pressures of rising demand and chronic workforce shortages. A recent event brought together policymakers, industry leaders, and patient advocates to discuss what must we change today to build a healthier, more resilient Europe tomorrow[1].
“There are three core prongs to be considered for the future of European healthcare,” Olaf Weppner, Vice President Europe Region North, at AbbVie, a biopharmaceutical company, said at the start of the discussion.
“The challenge of adopting innovation before it is ‘old news’, structural issues within the system itself, and a political framework that can support the setting of high standards in Europe.”
A key theme explored throughout the day was the need for Europe to stop treating healthcare as a cost and instead start to understand it as an investment in essential economic infrastructure. Experts cautioned that without fresh thinking, it will be impossible for healthcare to keep pace with increasing levels of need.
“Workforces are already struggling with the numbers that they are dealing with today,” Amelia Hursey, Strategic Director of Parkinson’s Europe, explained, “So how are they going to be able to look after even more people with no better infrastructure or if we simply keep doing what we have always done?”
That need for a step change in how services are delivered was also acknowledged by the legislators in the room. Croatian MEP Tomislav Sokol, who sits on the influential Committee on Public Health (SANT) emphasised the urgency of the situation and called for faster adaptation of new technologies to help transform patient care.
That innovation has already started. The European Commission has launched initiatives such as eHealth and the European Health Data Space to support innovation, something that MEP Sokol believes can provide a catalyst for industry investment in solutions that improve patient outcomes.
“I think making health data a public good that everybody can access will help breakthroughs in terms of research and innovation,” MEP Sokol explained.
However, this innovation is taking place in a context of limited healthcare capacity and ever-increasing demand. Weppner cautioned that any strategy that is solely focused on building workforce capacity will be slow to deliver and difficult to sustain.
Instead, he argues, workforce development must be seen as part of a wider systemic change that makes better use of capacity through innovation, earlier intervention, and prevention.
“The healthcare workforce is critical for a competitive Europe, but staffing gaps won’t be addressed by a single action nor overnight,” Weppner said. “We have to look at reducing the inward flow and maximising time for professionals. This means prevention where possible, timely intervention, and access to treatment when first needed.”
Neurology provided a compelling example of a disease area where working differently could deliver better and make more effective use of limited capacity. Amelia Hursey highlighted how a lack of specialised professionals is leading to gaps in care for people living with Parkinson’s.
“Parkinson’s is very, very complicated,” Hursey explained. “There are huge gaps right now that are not being addressed because there is not the workforce who are specialised enough to fully support someone with Parkinson’s. You need someone in the health system to coordinate that.”
Hursey detailed the key asks set out in a recently agreed Call to Action focused on driving better standards of care to people living with advanced Parkinson’s.
“We don't just need to upskill the workforce in general, we also really need the specialists,” she argued. “If people have a Parkinson's nurse, they feel more in control of their condition and know that they have got treatment and care options.”
The need for bold action to change the way healthcare is delivered is something that German MEP Oliver Schenk also supports. He noted that the contribution the healthcare sector makes to a competitive European environment is often underacknowledged by the public and policymakers alike.
“Most people in Germany feel like we are the big car industry with a million people working in that sector but no one knows that 5 to 6 million people are working in the German healthcare system,” MEP Schenk explained. “No one in Germany is saying, ‘Wow, we are a healthcare country,’ but we are. It is such an innovative branch of our economy.”
MEP Schenk continued to explain that investment in healthcare innovation not only strengthens public health but also enhances Europe’s economic competitiveness.
“Europe should be looking at the value of healthcare in a way that rewards good pharmaceutical innovation,” he said. “Innovation that eases pressures, helps patients return to employment, and uses resources wisely must be part of the planning for a future healthcare workforce."
AbbVie SA/NV - BE-ABBV-250069 (V1.0) - April 2025
[1]WHO. Health and Care Workforce in Europe: Time to Act. Copenhagen: World Health Organization. Regional Office for Europe, 2022.
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