Medical care in the North Rhine region is facing major challenges: A significant proportion of doctors in the administrative districts of Düsseldorf and Cologne will retire from the profession in the coming years due to their age. According to the 2024 medical statistics from the North Rhine Medical Association, 52% of working doctors were aged 50 or over at the end of 2024, with 23% even over 65. In view of the increasing demand for medical care in an ageing society, the Medical Association sees an urgent need for action to maintain the level of care.

Demographic trends are exacerbating the shortage of doctors, as many doctors are retiring while there are not enough young doctors to fill the gap. The Medical Association criticizes the fact that the federal and state governments have provided too few places to study medicine over the years and have neglected to reform the licensing regulations. Without a significant increase in training capacity, there is a risk of undersupply, particularly in rural areas. Dependence on foreign study places or the immigration of doctors from abroad is seen as an inadequate solution. Instead, the Medical Association calls for the consistent promotion of young doctors in Germany in order to ensure a stable supply in the long term.

The importance of foreign doctors for the healthcare system in North Rhine-Westphalia is already great. In 2024, the number of working doctors with foreign nationality reached a new high of 9,289. Of these, 6,025 worked in hospitals and 1,782 in outpatient care. Most of them come from Syria, Greece, Romania, Turkey and Iran. Without this immigration, medical care, especially in hospitals, would hardly be guaranteed. Nevertheless, the Medical Association emphasizes that this is not a sustainable strategy, as dependence on external resources entails uncertainties.

The Medical Association proposes several measures to counteract the impending supply bottlenecks. A rapid reduction in bureaucracy and the expansion of digital solutions could increase efficiency in medical work and conserve resources. At the same time, a rapid revision and financing of the licensing regulations is called for in order to modernize training and attract more young people to the medical profession. The Medical Association rejects lowering quality standards, introducing new professional groups or delegating medical tasks to other professions, as this could jeopardize the quality of care. Instead, planning should be geared more towards regional needs in order to cover both urban and rural areas.

The statistics on doctors illustrate the urgency of the problem. Between 2014 and 2024, the proportion of older doctors has increased significantly, while the number of foreign doctors has risen continuously. Without targeted countermeasures, the supply gap threatens to worsen. The North Rhine Medical Association is calling on the federal and state governments to finally take decisive steps to strengthen medical training and sustainably improve the framework conditions for medical care. This is the only way to ensure that patients in North Rhine will continue to have access to high-quality medical care in the future.

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