Belgium needs to address its structural shortage of health workers, the European Commission said on Wednesday.
"The Belgian health system performs well in providing acute care in hospitals," the Commission acknowledged in its recommendations for Belgium.
However, the new coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic "has highlighted a number of shortcomings in the health system's resilience when faced with a severe public health crisis," including a "structural shortage of health workers."
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The Commission added that "ensuring sufficient critical medical products, including protective equipment in particular for health workers and workers in other exposed occupations, will remain key."
"The smooth implementation" of the Interministerial Conference "agreement on public healthcare to make hospital staff and infrastructure (a federal competence) available to long-term care facilities (a community competence) is an important building block in this context," the Commission said.
The Brussels Times
