Doctor shortage: ‘We will have to turn patients away’

A doctor and patient in Zurich © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Switzerland faces serious consequences of the shortage of specialists in the health sector, a leading house doctor has warned, with “massive problems” predicted in the next two to three years.

There are no longer enough doctors – either in hospitals or practices – to care for the Swiss population, Philippe LuchsingerExternal link, president of the Swiss association for house doctors and paediatricians, said in an interviewExternal link with Tamedia newspapers on Saturday.

“The public must be prepared for the fact that in future there will be a waiting time of several months for an appointment with a family doctor or a clarification with a specialist,” he said.

Triage will therefore exist, Luchsinger said. “We will have to turn away patients with minor illnesses because we no longer have time for them. As a result, we might miss treating a disease in its early stages.” This would be drastic in the case of cancer, for example, he said.

Problems with surgery

Luchsinger said there was a shortage not only of house doctors but also of doctors in areas such as cardiology and radiology. “There are already problems with young doctors in the operating specialties, such as general surgery. And it was inconceivable until recently that we would one day have too few gynaecologists,” he said.

“We missed out on training more doctors in time,” he explained. “Instead, the number of study places was limited.” The 1,350 places was nowhere near enough to cover the demand, said Luchsinger, who is therefore calling for more study places in Swiss universities.