The shortage of occupational physicians in the Netherlands is a growing bottleneck for employers, employees and occupational health services. While demand for absence guidance and reintegration is rising, the number of available physicians is falling. That affects both the speed and the quality of occupational health services. In this article we look at the current situation, the causes of the shortage and possible solutions, based on recent figures and reports.
The current situation and what it means in practice
According to the Capacity Plan 2024-2027 (in Dutch), the yearly intake of occupational physicians is far too low. Where at least 258 new physicians a year are needed to keep capacity up to strength, only around 90 start. At the same time a large share of the current physicians is leaving the labour market: within ten years, 66 per cent of female and 78 per cent of male occupational physicians are expected to retire.
The consequences are felt. Employers experience longer waiting times for consultations and guidance, which leads to longer absence cases and rising costs. In 2022 the total cost of absence for Dutch employers came to more than 42 billion euros (BG magazine, 2023, in Dutch).
Causes of the shortage
The shortage has several causes:
- Low intake into the training: specialist training as an occupational physician is less popular among young doctors, partly because the profession is little known and training places are limited.
- A shortage of trainers: there are not enough practice trainers available to guide new physicians.
- No structural funding: the training is not publicly funded, which is a threshold for doctors who want to switch.
Together these factors create a structural shortage that has been running for years.
Possible solutions
Various organisations, including the Dutch association of occupational physicians NVAB, are calling for far-reaching measures. Some directions:
- Public funding of the training: this lowers the threshold to enter and encourages career switches.
- Delegation of tasks: some tasks can be taken over by practice assistants or case managers, provided that happens under clear protocols and supervision (HRpraktijk, 2024, in Dutch).
- Investing in prevention: with targeted preventive measures, employers can bring absence down and so reduce the pressure on occupational physicians.
Without enough occupational physicians, sustainable employability comes under ever greater pressure.
What now?
The shortage of occupational physicians is not a temporary problem but a structural challenge that calls for cooperation between government, employers and training institutes. Without action, waiting times keep rising and the cost of absence guidance keeps going up. With targeted measures, though, it is possible to raise the intake and take the pressure off the system.