First expert meeting on WHOʼs support to the hospital sector in Member States: re-thinking the future of hospitals in the WHO European Region: Brussels, Belgium, 21–22 April 2022: meeting report

ABSTRACT

As part of its European Programme of Work 2020–2025, and its focus on the recovery, resilience and robustness of health systems in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the WHO Regional Office for Europe continues to support European countries to better fulfil citizens’ expectations about health and to achieve universal health coverage across the Region. The Division of Country Health Policies and Systems has initiated a programme for hospitals under the Health Workforce and Service Delivery Unit to provide technical support to Member States. This is to help improve the performance of hospitals by focusing on implementation of clinical governance systems for quality of care and patient safety, building capacities for clinical leadership and innovations in hospital planning and operations, and to ensure that care is provided in the most appropriate setting, organized around the wide-ranging needs and expectations of people and communities. This report provides a brief summary of the workshop that took place in Brussels on 21–22 April 2022 and summarizes the output of other policy work undertaken by the WHO Regional Office for Europe related to the future of hospitals in the Region. The objective is to inform the WHO approach to supporting Member States in the development of policy, dissemination of learning and advocating for change, as well as defining country-specific work and opportunities to work with partner organizations in promoting this agenda.