CPME General Assembly discussed Greek and European health policy challenges, emphasising the need to invest in the health workforce

The meeting kicked off with a video message from Dr Dimitrios Vartzopoulos (Deputy Minister of Health of Greece), who said “The challenges we face are not confined by national borders. They are systemic challenges to the European social states themselves. We stand at a critical junction defined by complex and interactive threats for collective well-being, demographic, age and mobility.”

“In Europe, we have a unique opportunity to transform a chronic problem into a model of effective social policy by creating a model universal and sustainable system built upon the unshakeable principles of dignity, social justice in European solidarity.”

These challenges were illustrated in short videos recorded by Greek doctors, who shared personal and powerful experiences from the frontline of Europe’s health workforce crisis as part of CPME’s #DoctorsVoice campaign.

The testimonies highlight excessive working hours, understaffing, financial challenges, exhaustion and effects on mental health, including burnout. The doctors highlighted that the working conditions affect their well-being and personal relationships, and urged policymakers to listen to their voices and provide “protection and respect”.

The pressures on health professionals’ mental health was underlined by Dr Tomas Zapata of the WHO Regional Office for Europe, who presented sobering results on the Mental Health of Nurses and Doctors in EU, Norway and Iceland survey. He reported that 1 in 3 doctors and nurses report depression, five times higher than the general population, and 1 in 10 experience passive suicidal thoughts. The survey is the largest of its kind in the European region, and CPME was engaged throughout its development and dissemination.

CPME has also carried out a complementary survey on national policies in support of doctors’ mental noting a relative lack of data on doctors’ mental health and wide variety of support services.  

These discussions led into one of the main outcomes of the meetings, a policy on the Optimisation of Healthcare Service Delivery, which aims to guide reforms in response to growing workforce and efficiency pressures. This policy will be finalised at the upcoming CPME General Assembly in March.

The policy stresses that optimisation must prioritise patient safety, patients’ rights, clinical benefit, ethical principles, and quality of care over cost-cutting. It cautions against unsafe task shifting or overreliance on digital tools, affirming that these cannot replace investment in staffing, training, and medical expertise.

The meeting also included rich discussions in other policy areas. The General Assembly adopted a response to the European Commission questionnaire on the future Biotech Act, stressing the need to maintain high standards on clinical trials and ensure effective implementation of the Clinical Trials Regulation. The emphasis is on ethical considerations, aligning with the WMA Declaration of Helsinki and Declaration of Taipei.

Additionally, a response to a consultation on the proposal for a Council Directive on tobacco taxation was adopted. CPME supports the Commission’s proposal to increase the minimum tax and extend the scope of the directive to new tobacco and nicotine products. The response also highlights the need to counteract the tobacco and nicotine industry tactics to interfere in policy-making.

In the digital health session, the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) shared an update on the EU Action Plan for the cybersecurity of hospitals and healthcare providers. Furthermore, Dr Haralampos Karanikas (University of Thessaly) presented the i2X project, which will connect electronic health record systems across Europe. CPME are partners in the project and our position on implementing a user-friendly and intuitive electronic health record has been a key input in developing an upcoming survey on health data collection needs.

Participants finalised the meetings with a tour of the Acropolis museum provided by our generous hosts from the Panhellenic Medical Association. It was an ideal backdrop to reflect on the birth of democracy and how to continue collaboration between European doctors before we meet again in Dublin in March.