Europe has been widely recognised for its advanced healthcare systems and excellence in patient care. However, a new World Health Organisation of Europe report (2025) brings to light a serious issue: the increasing dependence on foreign-trained doctors and nurses in the region.
While the availability of foreign-trained doctors and nurses fills critical gaps for the health care workforce, it simultaneously creates a ripple through borders and creates a strain for sending and receiving countries of health professionals.
At Dynamic Health Staff, we completely understand this dilemma! We are one of the top international health care recruiter agencies in India, and we work to ensure that the flow of medical talent is beneficial to the health professional, as well as the patients, health care systems, and the country.
The Increasing Reliance on Foreign Health Care Workers
The WHO Europe report identified that for every six doctors and one nurse who are practising in Europe, there is one trained outside of Europe. Countries like the UK, Germany, Ireland, and other Nordic countries are reliant on healthcare workers from all over the world, especially in countries like India, the Philippines, Nigeria, and Eastern Europe, just to keep the hospitals and clinics open.
This expectation has escalated due to the following factors:
An ageing workforce: many doctors and nurses in European countries are older and nearing retirement age, which creates a potentially serious gap in staffing.
Increased healthcare demand: as Europe’s population ages, demand for healthcare services is still increasing.
Limited capacity to train domestically: With healthcare needs increasing rapidly, there are not enough domestic trainee healthcare workers to fill the needs.
Glass escalator effect: professionals from developing countries see Europe providing better pay, better training, and better job progression.
The Ripple Effects Across Borders
While this global movement of health care workers assists Europe in maintaining its health care systems, it also causes strain elsewhere.
Source countries such as India, the Philippines, and parts of Africa may experience shortages of skilled workers as a result of international mobility. Hospitals in these countries, especially in rural areas, may struggle to satisfy the needs of the local population, even with a shortage of health care workers.
This movement has some attendant upsides:
- It expands opportunities for global careers for healthcare workers.
- It encourages improvements in training in source countries.
- It assists families and communities through family remittances to the source country.
The WHO report notes that there needs to be a balance of recruitment so that source and destination countries are treated fairly in recruitment.
The Role of Ethical Recruitment
Ethical gaming is crucial to keeping equilibrium in the global health human resources movement. Ethical recruitment ensures that international recruiting is reasonable, transparent, and sustainable.
At Dynamic Health Staff, we consistently uphold the Global Code of Practice. We ensure:
- Candidates are informed, supported, and prepared.
- Facilities get qualified professionals who fit their training and education standards.
- Professional groups benefit from responsible and lawful hiring.
We are not merely intending to fill vacant positions; we are interested in building bridges that can last between healthcare systems.
Why are Indian Healthcare Professionals in demand?
India remains a leading source of healthcare workers. Indian nurses and doctors are valued for their excellent training, ability to communicate in English, adaptability, and personable approach to care.
Indian professionals are working throughout Europe in hospitals, nursing homes, and community health centres, and fortifying the foundation of public healthcare.
Building a Sustainable Healthcare Workforce
The report from the World Health Organisation calls for global sharing of responsibility to address workforce shortages. Rates of investment in training, working conditions, and ethical recruitment practices must also be established or improved to support sustainability over the longer term.
Dynamic Health Staff is proud to be a part of this initiative. We offer recruitment solutions to European hospitals to help them access skilled professionals quickly, all the time committing to ethical and transparent behaviour from both parties in the recruitment process.
When you do recruitment right, everyone benefits – patients receive better care as a result, healthcare systems are more viable, and healthcare professionals have opportunities for personal and professional development.
Dynamic Health Staff can help you attain your aim, whether you are a European hospital or healthcare organisation dealing with workforce shortages, or a healthcare professional seeking new opportunities internationally.
To begin your application today, contact us at healthcare@dynamichealthstaff.com or visit www.dynamichealthstaff.com.
Let’s work together to create a fair and sustainable global healthcare workforce in support of patients, professionals, and progress.
