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HEALTH

Denmark expects to increase number of doctors in health system

Coming years will see Denmark significantly increase the number of doctors working in its health service, according to a Danish Health Authority prognosis, but challenges remain in staffing all regions evenly.

Published: 20 June 2022 17:13 CEST
A file photo of a doctor in Denmark
A file photo of a doctor in Denmark. The country expects to significantly increase its medical labour force over the next two decades. Photo: Ida Guldbæk Arentsen/Ritzau Scanpix

A report by the national health authority, released Monday, suggest the country will increase its medical staffing.

The public health service has been reported to be suffering a nursing shortage, while local GP clinics are suffering from a low number of GPs to run the clinics, leaving patients without a permanent family doctor.

READ ALSO: Why many people in Denmark don’t have a regular GP

Increased admissions at university medicine programmes is expected to boost the number of doctors by 60 percent by 2045, according to the Danish Health Authority report.

That corresponds to around 17,305 more doctors than there are working in Denmark today, with the total reaching 45,500 doctors 23 years from now.

A lack of doctors is often cited as a problem in Denmark, particularly in remote rural areas.

An increase in elderly and chronically ill people in the population will also mean additional doctors will be welcomed, Danish Health Authority head of department Steen Dalsgård Jespersen said in a statement.

“It’s good to see that there will be more doctors and specialists in the coming years,” Jespersen said.

“When the number of doctors and specialists increases more than the population, we will become better equipped to take care of the increasing need for health services in the coming years,” he said.

“It’s crucial that a more even distribution of medical labour between the five regions and with the regions takes place,” he said in reference to the lack of medical staff in remote locations.

The prognosis is dependent upon “decisions and priorities in the coming years,” the Danish Health Authority notes in the report.

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HEALTH

Denmark to spend 334 million kroner on paths to boost ‘declining’ cycling

A total of 69 local and national bicycle lane projects are to receive 334 million kroner in funding in 2024.

Published: 26 June 2024 12:40 CEST
Denmark to spend 334 million kroner on paths to boost ‘declining’ cycling

The money, which will see Denmark’s already extensive network of bike lanes continue to grow, comes from a 2021 transport agreement setting aside money for bicycle infrastructure, the Ministry of Transport said in a statement.

Some 64 different municipalities are receiving funding including 28 projects for school bike access.

Under the terms of the agreement, local authorities can get 40 percent of the cost of new bicycle lanes covered by the state fund.

The five new national bicycle lanes – which are fully state-funded – will be built in locations including the Hedensted, Næstved, Norddjurs and Kalundborg municipalities, which are split between Zealand and Jutland.

Distribution of the funding must be rubber-stamped by parliament’s Transport Committee, a process which will be scheduled for after parliament’s summer holiday, the ministry noted in the statement.

“It’s great that we are now expanding the bicycle lane network but cycling is unfortunately declining despite a political desire for the opposite,” the director of the Transport section with the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI), Karsten Lauritzen, said in a statement.

“The forthcoming investments in bicycle lanes which are part of the 2035 infrastructure plan should therefore be brought forward,” he said.

The Transport Minister, Thomas Danielsen said he agreed with the assessment that fewer people are using their bicycles and said a national strategy was on the way to tackle the issue.

“When I became transport minister I was gladly given responsibility for a three-billion-krone spending plan for cycling. I did that but at the same time, we don’t have a clear idea of how to get the most cycling and therefore most for this money,” Danielsen said.

“So this cycling strategy should take the form of a resource to help us decision-makers spend the money as wisely as possible,” he added.

The strategy should be prepared by late 2025, he added.

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