European private hospitals warn of risk of deterioration in healthcare: lack of human resources and rising costs highlighted in the European Union of Private Hospitals’ Factbook 2025, presented in Brussels.
Brussels, 19 November 2025: MEP Sebastião Bugalho hosts the presentation of the new edition of the European Union of Private Hospitals (UEHP) Factbook, which takes place today at the European Parliament in Brussels, with Oscar Gaspar, president of the UEHP board.
The difficulty in recruiting human resources in the health sector is highlighted as one of the problems affecting all European countries and which could jeopardise the quality of services provided.
This document, regularly promoted by UEHP, takes stock of the private healthcare sector in Europe, highlighting the main indicators of quality, accessibility, innovation and activity in a sector that is already one of the largest employers in the EU.
Dr Paul Garassus, honorary president of UEHP and author of the Factbook, presents the key facts and figures and reflects upon them in a discussion with contribution from Guillaume Dedet from the OECD, Miguel Amado from EY, MEP Sérgio Humberto and UEHP vice-presidents Béatrice Noëllec and Cristian Hotoboc will also participate in its presentation.
The report, which can be consulted here FACTBOOK 2025, acknowledges the existence of cross-cutting problems for private healthcare providers in Europe, with emphasis on the general increase in costs, the lack of human resources and regulatory instability in the sector. “Hospitals in Europe are in crisis. A funding crisis, a recruitment crisis, difficulties in fulfilling their responsibilities while maintaining high quality service provision,” the document states.
The Factbook 2025 also warns of ‘the real danger of deterioration in health services,’ highlighting pressure on human resources in the sector as one of the most critical elements. ‘Across Europe, the difficulty in recruiting a new generation of healthcare professionals is putting the system under pressure.
