European health multi-stakeholder partnership on skills gaps and emerging occupations launched!

The BeWell project launched the European health multi-stakeholder partnership on skills gaps and emerging occupations, on Tuesday 13 December, through an online event.

The BeWell project launched the European health multi-stakeholder partnership on skills gaps and emerging occupations, on Tuesday 13 December, through an online event. The event was hosted by the European Health Management Association (EHMA), BeWell project coordinator.  

The event was moderated by George Valiotis from EHMA and Michele Calabro from EUREGHA.  

Sandra Gallina, Director General, of the Directorate General for Health and Food Safety, welcomed the initiative, referring to the challenges that the EU health system faces and welcomed the multi-stakeholder partnership as a good beginning, almost a guarantee that Europe will have the experience to deal with the challenges it faces across the health sector. She invited the partners to create synergies and, especially, inspire young people to join the sector, promoting the value of the work that health professionals undertake.  

Michele Calabro’, Director EUREGHA, presented the partnership manifesto overview, describing the challenges, the ambition, the objectives, and the Key Performance Indicators set out. George Valiotis highlighted the collective development of this manifesto, inviting all interested parties to join the movement, being sure that they can contribute with their voices being equally relevant.  

A panel debate with 4 panelists representing different expertise that are contributing to the partnership, followed the manifesto presentation. Jan Willem Goudriaan (Secretary General, EPSU – European Federation of Public Service Unions), Ronald Batenburg (Research programme Coordinator, NIVEL – Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research), Anja Lund (President of the Digitalisation Committee, Region of South Denmark), and Elizabeth Adams (President, EFN – European Federation of Nurses Associations) shared their perspectives and described the relevance of the partnership to the sectors they represent.  

• Jan Willem Goudriaan referred to the development of this partnership under the Pact for Skills in strong collaboration with the health professionals  
• Ronald Batenburg highlighted the role of research and evidence as a critical factor towards continuous improvement of health policies, and innovation in health services, focusing on health professions of the future, professionalism, and the labor market 
• Anja Lund, presented the perspective of decision makers, highlighting the importance of creating a strong innovation culture, that builds on the close collaboration between professionals and clinical research 
• Elizabeth Adams, representing 3 million nurses across Europe, welcomed the partnership as a major opportunity for all actors to work together towards delivering the most effective, efficient and appropriate care, building a better prepared and sustainable health ecosystem. 

As next steps, BeWell partners will develop a workplan and will start offering services to facilitate networking, knowledge exchange between the partners of the Partnership and will provide funding advice later in 2023. 

The European Commission has published a position paper for the launch event.