“Longer life expectancy increases need for Nordic co-operation”
“It’s really positive that average life expectancy has risen in the Nordic Region. It shows what good places our countries are to live. It also opens up a whole range of new possibilities. But the need it creates for extra staff in the care sector will require closer Nordic co-operation,” the Norwegian Minister of Health, Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen, told the Nordic Council Welfare Committee.
Photo: Berit Roald, Scanpix/The Office of the Prime Minister
”We still have time. The biggest hike in the number of senior citizens in the Region will not occur until 2020. Our health services have similar structures and face similar challenges. We can’t buy our way out of things but we can learn form each other,” added the minister, who sees staffing as the greatest challenge.
”In 2050, our staff needs will be twice as great as they are today. We will need to train more people and deploy the staff we already have more efficiently. We can improve health and care in the Nordic Region by working more closely together on research, technology and administrative systems,” she added.
One in three in the care sector
”I think we can tackle this better in the Nordic Region. Our social model has raised the birth rate but we still face a major challenge down the line. In 25 years, one in three of school leavers will have to take jobs in the health and care sector if we are to cover projected staffing needs,” Strøm-Erichsen added.
” The Nordic approach serves as a model for welfare. The Welfare Committee is looking into how we can develop and improve it even further,” Wahlström said at the end of the meeting.
