There has always been a shortage of staff in the healthcare sector. According to the World Health Organization, we will be 15 million health professionals short by 2030. The population of Europe is aging. There is an increase in chronic illnesses. The aging population has been a problem for a long time now, but is it the only reason for such a massive shortage, and why is the situation worse in the healthcare and medical sector?
It seems shortages in hospitals and nursing homes are covered by mainstream media. However, there isn’t much information about live-in caregiving, even though it’s a massive sector. Only in Germany, there are about 3.4 million citizens in need of care. About 75%, or over 2.5 million, receive care in their homes, while about 500 000 are taken care of by live-in caregivers from Eastern Europe or countries outside of the EU.
Advancements in medicine
In 1970, the life expectancy was just over 77 years for females and 72 for males. Right now, it’s 85 for women and 81 for men.
That’s more than 10% in just 50 years, or roughly two generations! Ironically, the healthcare sector is suffering because of its advancements. However, this is by no means negative news. It just means that we need to put more effort into making sure our parents or grandparents have a pleasant and fulfilling retirement.
Covid-19 and its effects on shortages in the in-home caregiving sector
The pandemic has been devastating for sectors like tourism and hospitality. Not only were there strict restrictions for gathering indoors (at some points even outdoors), but it was also extremely difficult to travel abroad. That leads to fewer caregivers travelling to western Europe. In addition, many of the caregivers that were already there decided to go home indefinitely because they were concerned about how the pandemic will develop. All that lead to such acute shortages of healthcare staff in western Europe that the sector still hasn’t recovered fully.
What are we doing to help solve this problem?
Another main issue for the shortage of live-in caregivers is the salary. That is why we’re working hard on providing live-in caregivers with the salary they deserve. Just in the last 3 years, we have increased the salaries by more than 30%. To put this in perspective, over the last ten years, salaries in the EU have increased by an average of 2.19% per quarter.
Atena does not only motivate people to start work in the healthcare sector, but also provides the tools for the job. We offer to pay for a language or healthcare course for our clients. We understand that preparation and qualification are very important for any job, and live-in caregiving is definitely a job that requires proper preparation and experience.
Thanks to our 14 years of experience, we have a deep understanding of the labour market, namely the healthcare sector. We understand the usual problems and needs of patients and we can also evaluate the knowledge and experience of a caregiver to match the perfect pair together. Work with professionals, success is not a coincidence.
