Italy has the oldest doctors in Europe, with 55% aged over 55. Retirements are expected to peak in 2025, the Italian Geriatric Society Hospital and Territory (SIGOT) warned on Wednesday.
SIGOT stated that around 13,156 doctors are expected to become eligible for retirement in 2025. This wave of retirements comes as medical professionals face increasing demand for assistance due to Italy’s aging population. The oldest doctors in Europe will be caring for old patients.
National healthcare system under threat
Data from the national statistics bureau ISTAT shows that over the past two decades, the number of residents over 65 years of age has risen by more than 3 million to 14.3 million. In 2021, 55% of doctors in Italy were older than 55, compared to 44.5% in France, 44.1% in Germany, and 32.7% in Spain.
After the expected peak in retirements in 2025, the president of SIGOT, Lorenzo Palleschi, who works at Rome’s San Giovanni-Addolorata Hospital, said, “only in 2030 will we be back to 2020 levels, with 7,471 annual retirements.”
