Joint HOSPEEM–EPSU visit with DG EMPL Director-General Mario Nava to UZ Leuven Gasthuisberg
On 27 May, the Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL), Mario Nava, visited the university hospital UZ Leuven Gasthuisberg. The visit was facilitated by the European Hospital and Healthcare Employers’ Association (HOSPEEM) and the European Public Service Union (EPSU) in the context of the European sectoral social dialogue in the hospital and healthcare sector.
The programme was organised by UZ Leuven Gasthuisberg, whose teams ensured a comprehensive and insightful visit. HOSPEEM and EPSU would like to express their appreciation to Gasthuisberg, its management, and the HR and communication teams for the excellent preparation and warm welcome, as well as to Zorgnet-Icuro, and to the local trade union representatives from ACV-CSC and BBTK-ABVV, for their contribution to the programme and exchanges.
The visit brought together representatives of the European Commission, social partners and UZ Leuven/KU Leuven for an exchange on the future of healthcare systems and healthcare work.
Discussions focused on social dialogue at hospital level, approaches to addressing labour shortages through recruitment, retention and working conditions, as well as skills development and training as key enablers for sustainable healthcare systems.
Participants also visited key clinical and training areas, including robotic cardiac surgery, the neonatal intensive care unit, and the STEPS skills centre, highlighting how innovation, advanced care delivery and structured skills training are integrated in daily hospital practice.
The visit provided an opportunity for social partners to engage with DG EMPL on shared priorities for the sector, including workforce sustainability, quality jobs, skills portability and the organisation of resilient healthcare services in a context of growing demand across the European Union.
The discussions underlined the importance of continued dialogue between European institutions, social partners and healthcare providers to support strong, resilient and well-functioning healthcare systems across the European Union.
On 11 October 2024, the European Commission’s DG REGIO hosted partners of the Harnessing Talent Platform, a knowledge-building and experience-sharing initiative aimed at fostering dialogue among relevant stakeholders at the European, national, and regional levels. Since the establishment of four working groups in autumn 2023, focusing on Digital, Health, Research & Innovation, and Territorial issues, eleven issue papers have been published. These papers identify the scope of the challenges and propose actionable outputs.
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