“As noted in Section 4 (see Figure 11 above), Denmark has more doctors and nurses per 1,000 population than the EU averages. While the number of doctors and nurses relative to population size has increased over the past decade, the growth in the number of nurses has been more modest. The growth in doctors relative to population size has been solely among specialists, while the density of GPs has remained unchanged. As a result, the share of GPs among all doctors decreased from 21 % in 2010 to 18 % in 2020 (OECD, 2023a).
“In hospitals, staffing challenges in 2022 were mainly found among doctors in some specialty areas and specialist categories of nurses such as nurse anaesthetists, operating theatre nurses and intensive care nurses, with all regions having vacant positions in 2022 (Ministry of the Interior and Health, 2023a). Overall, in 2022, around 4,700 nursing positions were unfilled in hospitals. These workforce shortages have impeded the capacity to reduce the backlog of patients on waiting lists, and thereby to reduce waiting times for surgical interventions (see Section 5.3).”
Source: OECD/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (2023), Denmark: Country Health Profile 2023, State of Health in the EU, OECD Publishing, Paris/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Brussels.
“In the spring of 2022, the former Social Democratic government and selected opposition parties agreed on a new health reform package. The overall aim was to improve care coordination and strengthen local and primary care capacity to deal with the growing number of older and chronic care patients (see Section 5.2). The package meant that the health clusters for better integrating the 21 acute care hospitals and primary and local care were formalized with a new governance structure with representatives from the regions, municipalities and general practice. In addition, DKK 4 billion (€536.4 million) were allocated for establishing up to 25 local hospitals’ throughout the country, aiming to strengthen local capacity to provide chronic care (Section 5.4.1). A significant portion of the money should be invested in digital health solutions. Additional investments of DKK 1.4 billion (€187.7 million) in 2023, followed by DKK 384 million (€51.5 million) annually, have been earmarked for the development of municipal health care over the coming years. This is followed by an agreement to develop quality targets and indicators at the municipal level.
“Another focus point in the reform package is to address the shortages in nursing staff and GPs in some areas. The volume of GP training positions was increased, and a so-called Resilience Commission was established to address other staffing shortages (Sundhedsministeriet, 2022). The whole reform package can be seen as the latest in a long line of initiatives aimed at solving the difficult issues of integration across care levels and preparing for the higher volume of older and chronic care patients. While the intentions of the package are clear and relevant to the problems faced, it is unclear whether they will be sufficient.”
Source: Birk HO, Vrangbæk K, Rudkjøbing A, Krasnik A, Eriksen A, Richardson E, Smith Jervelund S. Denmark: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2024; 26(1): i–152.
“It is the view of the government that there is a need to improve the interaction between specialized health care in hospitals and local health care in the municipalities and general practices (Regeringen, 2022). Therefore, in their coalition agreement from December 2022 they decided to set up a new structural commission. The task of the commission is to draw up a basis for decision-making that sets out and illustrates models for the future organization of the health care system. In their work, the commission is to look at geography, organization, financial management, quality standards, patients’ rights and free choice in designing new models for the health care system (Regeringen, 2022).
“The structural commission was established in March 2023 and is expected to hand over the first reporting in the spring of 2024. At the same time, the government is planning on initiating a broad public debate involving employees, patients, relatives, experts and other stakeholders in the health care system (Regeringen, 2022).”
Source: Birk HO, Vrangbæk K, Rudkjøbing A, Krasnik A, Eriksen A, Richardson E, Smith Jervelund S. Denmark: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2024; 26(1): i–152.
“Following the major structural reform in 2007, which changed the administrative landscape of the public sector, an ongoing centralization and modernization of the hospital structure has occurred through major hospital reform (see Olejaz et al., 2012). Several smaller hospitals have been closed or converted into other types of health care facilities, the number of acute hospitals (which may include several locations) has been reduced from 40 in 2006 to 21 in 2022, and several building projects, including six new “superhospitals”, have received funding through a quality fund of DKK 25 billion (€3.4 billion) (see sections 4.1.1 and 5.4.3). The first of the six new regional “super-hospitals” were opened in 2021 (Sundhedsministeriet, 2021). The last building project is projected to open in 2025 (Sundhedsministeriet, 2021).”
Source: Birk HO, Vrangbæk K, Rudkjøbing A, Krasnik A, Eriksen A, Richardson E, Smith Jervelund S. Denmark: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2024; 26(1): i–152.
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Page last updated April 19, 2025 by Doug McVay, Editor.