We need care and healthcare systems that are focused on people, their rights and their needs

By Danko Relić, member of the EESC Civil Society Organisations' Group and rapporteur for the opinion SOC/720

To develop strong and resilient health and care systems in the European Union, we need an educated, skilled and motivated workforce. We need care and healthcare systems that are focused on people, their rights and their needs.

This also means that people should take part in all relevant discussions, consultations and decisions. If these conditions are met, we will be able to achieve human-centred health coverage for all and the "right to health", as recommended by the Conference on the Future of Europe. It is only in this way that we will be able to guarantee that all Europeans have equal and sustainable access to healthcare that is affordable, preventive, curative and of high quality.

In its recently adopted own-initiative opinion Health Workforce and Care Strategy for the future of Europe (SOC/720), the EESC calls for the creation of a European health workforce surveillance service to help Member States establish and maintain planning structures and coordinate cross-border aspects of planning. This would be linked to the right to free movement for health and care workers. The Committee also proposes an update of the Action Plan for the Health and Care Workforce in the European Union, including integrated health and care workforce planning and forecasting and the update of health and long-term care workforce skills, particularly with regard to the opportunities offered by digitalisation.

Find out more about the opinion SOC/720 at: https://europa.eu/!9YgygW