7,600 posts unblocked in hospitals: unions say it's only a quarter of the actual shortfall

The Ministry of Health has announced the unblocking of over 7,600 vacant posts within the public healthcare system, a measure coming just weeks before the general strike announced by the Sanitas trade union for 28 July. Of the total posts, approximately 3,000 are earmarked for nurses and around 1,900 for doctors, in line with the requirements reported by hospital managers.

The decision comes against a backdrop of tension, with acute staff shortages particularly in emergency care, anaesthesia, intensive care, cardiology, and neurology. Over the past year, more than 5,000 doctors sat the residency examination, and the roughly 240 post-secondary healthcare schools produce at least 15,000 graduates annually. Despite this, trade unionists say the actual shortage of nurses at national level stands at approximately 27,000 posts.

Sanitas union: the measure only helps get through the summer

Sanitas Vice-President Răzvan Gae told Adevărul that unblocking the posts is insufficient and does nothing to resolve the structural problems relating to pay and working conditions. He explained that interim Health Minister Atila Cseke acknowledged the need to unblock the posts, as hospital managers are facing staff shortages — particularly during the holiday period, when the remaining teams become overstretched and quickly burn out, especially nurses and care assistants, where the deficit is greatest. For doctors, the situation is somewhat better owing to the availability of residents and the possibility of being paid for on-call shifts.

Gae stressed that the 7,600 posts cover only a quarter of the actual national shortfall of 27,000, and that the measure offers only short-term relief to carry the system through the summer. He warned that pay continues to lag behind and that many staff will soon leave the system due to heavy workloads and stress. According to him, over the past two years, between one in four and one in two employees — particularly porters and care assistants — have left because the salaries do not justify the effort and the commute, with some choosing to work in supermarkets instead.

"The current model is the definition of failure"

Public health policy expert Sorin Paveliu criticised the centralised manner in which the Government blocks and unblocks posts. In his view, hospital managers should have the authority to hire as many healthcare staff as they deem necessary, based on the hospital's own budget, without requiring Government approval. If funds ran short, hospitals could adjust their range of services, and the public budget should not be covering salaries — hospitals themselves should. Paveliu described the current model as "the definition of failure".

Romania ranks fifth in the EU for healthcare staff shortages

According to the European Labour Authority's 2025 report, Romania is among the European countries most severely affected by shortages of medical staff, with 12 health-related professions — ranging from doctors and nurses to paramedics and veterinary surgeons — marked by significant deficits. In per capita terms, Romania ranks fifth in the EU in this regard, behind only the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, and Bulgaria.

At the domestic level, Ministry of Health data reveals a shortage of over 30,000 doctors and nurses, with approximately a quarter of specialists trained in Romania choosing to practise abroad. The situation is more acute in smaller hospitals and rural areas, where some specialities have disappeared entirely. According to estimates from the College of Physicians, the shortage of general practitioners alone exceeds 1,500 posts.