Heat-health action plans overlook Europe's most important health system resource: the health and care workforce.

چکیده اصلی

Europe is warming at more than twice the global average, and heatwaves increasingly coincide with extreme wildfires, rainfall, floods and storms, creating growing health security risks while intensifying an ongoing health and care workforce crisis. Governments across the European Region have scaled-up action to establish heat-health action plans, supported by comprehensive WHO guidance. However, health and care workers remain largely absent from these strategies, which continue to place their focus on protecting populations rather than the workforce responsible for delivering care. Workforce measures are fragmented, poorly coordinated and rarely linked to broader health security and resilience agendas. This policy commentary argues that health and care workers should be recognised within heat-health action plans as both a vulnerable population and critical group for health security infrastructure. Drawing on policy documents, published literature, WHO guidance, and expert insights, we identify key policy gaps and argue for a dedicated HCWF strategy and integrated transsectoral governance that recognises workforce resilience as a prerequisite for health system resilience.

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