10.N. Round table: Healthcare workforce crisis: moving the Bucharest Declaration forward, bridging evidence and policy
Authors:   Organised by: EUPHA-HWR, European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, WHO/Europe,   Chair persons: Michelle Falkenbach (Belgium), Ellen Kuhlmann (EUPHA-HWR)
Published: October 2023

Background

The WHO has declared the healthcare workforce a five-year policy priority, and the Bucharest Declaration and ‘Time to Act’ Report provide helpful signposts for the European Region. However, the implementation of these policies and the evidence of their impact largely remain a black-box. Because of this fact, knowledge exchange and learning from country experiences about what works, how and why to improve retention, recruitment and equity within and between countries are particularly relevant.

Objectives

This panel workshop provides a platform for cross-country learning and networking, building bridges between health workforce research evidence and policy. We connect health labour market approaches and actor-centred experiences. With a focus on retention and working conditions, the panel provides an overview of available knowledge, considering scientific data as well as the experience of front-line actors. The panel takes a policy approach and engages representatives of academia, policy, and international organisations, discussing challenges as well as good practice experiences with a focus on problem-solving.

The following major questions will be addressed: What evidence is available about the healthcare workforce crisis? How do countries respond to new healthcare workforce threats? What experience is available to improve retention, mental health support, equity and inclusiveness? Finally, how can cross-country learning be improved? The panel will stimulate critical debate and discuss major policy recommendations including: (1) scaling-up efforts to improve retention and respond to the health and social needs of all healthcare workers; (2) improving the skill-mix and developing novel team models; (3) establishing zero tolerance policies against all forms of violence; (4) improving gender equality and protecting women healthcare workers; (5) paying greater attention to migrant healthcare workers and equitable health workforce policies; (6) exploring the capacity building for healthcare workforce solutions through governance innovation.

The workshop starts with an introduction by the organisers and a brief overview of health labour market trends and healthcare worker needs. Then four different country case examples will follow along with an international reflection on the policy solutions from the Bucharest Declaration. The moderated panel sets the scene for an interactive discussion with the audience in the second part, aiming to explore new solutions to respond to the healthcare workforce crisis in a more effective and equitable manner.

Key messages

• Health workforce policy must strengthen retention and support more equitable, inclusive and ‘humanised’ responses to the health workforce crisis.

• Action must be taken to bridge research evidence and policy and systematically connect health labour market approaches and actor-centred experience.

Speakers/Panelists

Niamh Humphries

RCSI Graduate School of Healthcare Management, Dublin, Ireland

Sara Alidina

Department of Human Resources Management for Health, Lisbon, Portugal

Marius-Ionut Ungureanu

Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Viola Burau

Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark

Tomas Zapata

WHO/Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark