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Europe’s health and social care systems are suffering from chronic staff shortages, rising inequalities and the long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. These issues pose urgent questions about the sustainability and resilience of public services across the continent.
This edited volume offers the first evidence-based framework for tackling these issues. Drawing on cross-European case studies – from Scotland and Finland to Italy, Germany and Norway – the authors examine the structural, contextual and political factors shaping labour shortages. Using Social Democratic, Neoliberal and Corporatist welfare modules, they present a compelling rationale for renewed investment and long-term growth in public services.
An original contribution to workforce theory, this book provides actionable strategies for tackling staff shortages and building resilient systems – offering both a diagnosis of the workforce crisis and a way forward for its resolution.
Nigel Malin is Emeritus Professor of Health & Social Care at the University of Sunderland and an independent scholar. Between 2014 and 2021, he was Editor of Social Work & Social Sciences Review: An International Journal of Applied Research and Associate Editor for the British Journal of Learning Disabilities.
Marion Ellison is Reader in European Public Sociology and Social Policy at Queen Margaret University.
Part I: Legacy of the Pandemic Era and the UK Experience
1. New Ways of Working, Staff Shortages and Industrial Strikes – Nigel Malin and Marion Ellison
2. Innovations in Health and Social Care – Marion Ellison
Part II: Evolving a Structural and Theoretical Framework Towards Workforce Planning
3. A Multi-Dimensional Evidence-Based Approach - Nigel Malin and Marion Ellison
Part III: Confronting the Workforce Problem Across Different European Countries: A Case Study Approach
4. Realising a Resilient Medical and Elderly-Care System In Germany: Addressing Skilled Labour Shortages in the Context of Demographic Change - Andreas Jansen
5. Determinants of Labour Shortages in the Health Sector: A Comprehensive Analysis Across Health Workforce Regimes – Alvaro Martinez-Perez
6. Health Workforce Planning and Governance In Southern Europe: The Case Of Italy - Stefano Neri
7. The Supervision of Social Workers in Italy: Defining an Essential Level for Social Services - Marta Pantalone, Michele Marzulli and Giuseppe Moro
8. The Long-Term Care Workforce in Norway in a Nordic Comparative Perspective: Inflexible Leadership Traded for Professional Discretion and Trust - Frode F. Jacobsen
9. Care, Class and Crisis: Exploring the Workforce Problem in Municipal Healthcare Services in Norway - Anette Fagertun
10. The Health Care Workforce Structure In Southeast Europe: Issues and Solutions - Damir Josipovič
11. Workforce Shortages Within NHS Scotland: Policy Responses to Gender-Differentiated Inequalities Arising From the COVID-19 Pandemic - Marion Ellison
12. Experiences of the Workforce In The Long-Term Care Sector in Finland: An Exploration of Recent Developments - Jiby Mathew Puthenparambil, Antero Olakivi, Lina Van Aerschot, Vilhelmiina Lehto Niskala and Teppo Kroger
Part IV: Conclusion
13. An Evidence-Based Approach Towards Workforce Planning - Nigel Malin and Marion Ellison