Four nursing associations on Friday questioned a campaign by Belgium’s National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (Inami) to recruit 1,200 home-care workers, saying it makes little sense to spend millions to bring back staff without tackling the reasons they left.
The four organisations said they agree that demand for care at home is rising, though they raised doubts about the coherence of the policy.
Related News
- Belgium launches pharmacist-led medication reviews for elderly care home residents
- Brussels is bilingual - What about its hospitals?
- Walloon government agrees multi-year budget with Flemish-style 'jobs bonus'
According to their estimates, more than €23 million will be spent over several years to encourage carers to return to self-employed work in home care. At the same time, they said, Inami’s 2026 budget for home care is being cut by nearly €12 million.
The associations acknowledged that the figures do not relate to the same schemes or the same time periods. Even so, they said the two measures sit uneasily alongside each other.
They also called on Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit) to address what they described as a crisis affecting the whole profession, not only home care.
The four groups said restrictive working hours, excessive workloads, heavy administrative burdens and pay that does not match realities on the ground are discouraging carers across the sector, including in home care, hospitals and care homes.
They warned that every worker drawn back into home care could mean one fewer worker elsewhere in the system.
The associations said public money should first be used to stabilise the sector rather than refill a leaking pipeline. They urged the minister to provide clear answers on what guarantees are being offered both to professionals who return and to those who continue caring for patients every day.
