Ireland’s “over-reliance” on foreign-trained doctors and nurses “risks exacerbating workforce shortages” in the countries where they come from, the OECD has warned.
More than 40 percent of doctors, and more than 50 percent of nurses in Ireland are foreign-trained, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) says.
The OECD is calling for “urgent action is needed to address health workforce shortages in Europe.” But is critical of recruiting foreign-trained health professionals which it sees as an unsustainable solution.
“In Ireland, Pakistan was by far the main country of origin of foreign-trained doctors recruited in 2023, followed by two African countries (Sudan and South Africa).”
These countries are in need of more medical professionals themselves.
After Bulgaria and Romania, Ireland has the highest number of medical graduates in Europe relative to its population size. But many of these students do not stay in Ireland, but go on to work elsewhere.
When it comes to nursing, the OECD warns that Ireland is trapped in a cycle of import/export.
“To fill chronic staff shortages, Ireland’s Health Service Executive has conducted active overseas recruitment targeting countries like the Philippines and India, which have well-established nursing diasporas in the country.”
“Concurrently, significant numbers of Irish-trained nurses have emigrated to other English speaking countries, attracted by better working conditions and pay, thereby exacerbating the domestic nursing shortage and further driving the health system’s dependence on foreign-trained nurses.”
More than half – 51.8 percent – of nurses in Ireland are foreign-trained, more than double the proportion in any other European country.
Ireland has a large number of nurses – one of the highest per capita in Europe with “at least 12 nurses per 1,000 population”, but one of the lowest number of doctors for its population size.
This suggests “a greater reliance on nurses [instead of doctors] in delivering services”, the OECD warns.
Ireland spends around one-fifth of total government expenditure on healthcare, a similar proportion to Germany. But the small budget available to the government means the amount of money going to the health service is much smaller than in other countries.
“In 2022, 10.4 percent of the GDP of the EU was devoted to healthcare. With 12.6 percent, Germany dedicated the highest share of its economic output to health, followed by France and Austria.”
That compares to just 6.1 percent of Ireland’s GDP allocated to health, one of the lowest in Europe.
The OECD’s Health at a Glance: Europe 2024 report was published this week with the support of the European Commission.
European health systems are continuing their recovery from the Covid pandemic, the OECD says.
Digitalisation, climate change and changing demographics represent growing issues across Europe. The OECD has urged EU countries to seek to resolve health workforce shortages.