Health workforce governance in Europe: Where are we going?

In the European Union, better workforce governance is increasingly recognized as a burning policy issue. The healthcare sector is confronted with growing shortages and imbalances in the skills-mix and in the geographical distribution of health professionals. The future health workforce needs to respond to new healthcare needs resulting from demographic, epidemiological and socio-cultural changes. As the size and composition of the health workforce are also changing as a result of its ageing, changing gender arrangements, increased mobility and professional, organizational and technological developments, in most countries the quantitative and qualitative match between healthcare services demand and supply is increasingly difficult to achieve and to sustain