Pending in Europe: hearing care sector dependence

"By 2040, 30% of the European population will be over 65". At this point, no one is unaware that the transformation of society generated longevity is an issue that is affecting and will reach even higher levels in a few years. This survival is a great achievement of our time, however, to be a success, we have to assume new roles that enable seniors, the present and the future, can live comfortably and with quality.

With this challenge as relevant, the European Parliament recently hosted a unique encounter where politicians and private sector professionals dedicated to wellness and health and social services closer positions to converge on the need to anticipate and get down to work. Titled "The Care Industry as a driver of Economic Development and Public Deficit Reduction" (The health care sector as an engine of economic development and deficit reduction), Brussels was the venue chosen to take action at the request of the organizers of event, the European Confederation ECHO-primary sector employer-dependence, and the EU delegation to the International Confcommercio. And is that the data are what they are: in Europelive more than 85 million older and Eurostat estimated that approximately 15% of those aged over 65 are dependent, a percentage that rises to 25% among those over 75. It follows that dependence and age are closely related. Supporting this idea, the president of Confcommercio International, Alberto Marchiori, and its namesake in the ECHO, Alberto De Santis, influenced the progressive increase of the aging population in Europe. This, together with the existence of a population of about 20 million people in situations of dependency in the European Union, involves consideration of this sector "as a key in the current and future economic situation", sentenced. Thus is explained the importance of listening to their proposals in terms of its ability to create investment and employment, especially taking backdrop of the economic crisis in the EU.

A strategic sector
In today's globalized world, in which the difficult economic climate has spread like wildfire, this event is of special significance. The dependency care is positioned as a strategic sector "economically and generation of wealth and employment," said José Antonio Echevarría as General Secretary and Chairman ECHOFED.
Echevarria had a starring role in this meeting to present a European plan for job creation that results from a study by the Spanish Foundation and Health Economics. This analysis aims to create 500,000 spaces and socio 800,000 jobs by building adequate infrastructure. As Echevarria said, "business volume term care in the EU amounts to 167 million euros, which currently employs more than 20 million people and has a supply of 3.5 million socio beds. "However, the study shows large differences between countries, with a group of nations that exceed 6,000 beds per million inhabitants, compared to others with a ratio above the 10,000 beds. This plan aims "than any country in the EU to reach at least one ratio of 6,000 beds per million inhabitants, which involves creating half a million new beds." To undertake this strategy, called "Health and Employment", would involve an investment of around 30,000 million euros during the first two years.

For ECHO, creating socio 500,000 beds will not only generate superior returns by spending a need to create new jobs,but also ensure the supply of beds needed for the dependent population. Today, countries such as Denmark (8146) Netherlands (10,293), Belgium (12,082), Germany (10,324), France (8,977), Finland (10,801), Sweden (13,900), Luxembourg (10,688), Malta (10,821 ), United Kingdom (8,609), Hungary (8290), and Ireland (6,045) exceed the ratio of the 6,000 beds per million inhabitants.

With more need
Spain, with 245,927 beds socio, reaches only 5,323 beds per million inhabitants, ranking below 7,133 on average in the EU, and would need to create other 31,251 to reach the 6,000 beds per million population.
In addition to Spain, countries further away from this ratio are Italy (3,503 beds per million inhabitants), Latvia (3017), Poland (2,326), Bulgaria (1849) and Romania (1209). Italy is a nation that would need more beds, 151,817 to reach the proposed ratio, followed by Poland (141 553), Romania (102 314) and Spain (31,251).
In terms of employment, the plan will stimulate the creation of 390,000 jobs full tiemplo member states setand about 375,000 during the two years of construction of new beds.

In the case of Spain, the plan would create 24,938 jobs in service (7,125 direct, 17,813 indirect) and other 24,306 jobs, says the study.
Ultimately, the ECHO argues that the plan submitted by the sector will generate returns for higher government spending to invest in the necessary additional socio beds. In the case of Spain, creating socio 31,251 residential care beds, with a cost of 60,000 euros per bed, generate returns for Public Administration 4.545 million within 12 years from a private investment of 2.268 billion euros in two years and a cost of service for the Spanish Administration of 4.626 million euros. Currently, Spain spent more than a million dependence and the sector generates a turnover amounting to 8.9 billion euros per year, the report concludes.