Martha Kehagias
A doctor’s prescription pad may be full, but their own resilience is running out. According to new data from the World Health Organization’s European office, one in three doctors and nurses across the continent suffers from symptoms of depression or anxiety, a rate five times that of the general public. More than one in ten has contemplated suicide or self-harm.
The figures are grim enough in the abstract; in Cyprus, they are grimmer still. While the island boasts just under 80 doctors and nurses per 10,000 people, well below the European average of 123, its health workers are more likely to face violence on the job than almost anywhere else in Europe. Nine in ten report some form of workplace aggression, from verbal abuse to physical assault. Only Poland fares as poorly.
An unhealthy workplace
The WHO survey of 90,000 health professionals paints a picture of a workforce fraying at the edges. Across Europe, over half of doctors work more than 50 hours a week; a third are on temporary contracts. In Cyprus, where 38% of health staff are over 55, the pressures of staff shortages and long hours are compounded by an ageing workforce. The island’s nurse-to-doctor ratio is an anemic 1:1, compared with an EU average of 2.2:1, a symptom of chronic understaffing.
The toll is visible. Roughly a third of Cypriot doctors and nurses show signs of depression, and nearly one in ten have considered leaving the profession altogether. Emotional well-being among Cypriot clinicians, measured on the WHO-5 index, hovers just below the European mean, suggesting that while local medics may still find meaning in their work, they are far from thriving.
Meaningful but miserable
Two-thirds of Europe’s healthcare workers report satisfaction and a sense of purpose in their jobs. Cyprus is no exception: its doctors and nurses, by and large, believe their work matters. Yet this sense of purpose coexists uneasily with exhaustion and despair. The well-being scores of European health workers are roughly a third lower than those recorded before the pandemic.
The paradox is that healthcare professionals remain proud of their vocation, even as it wears them down. The emotional dissonance between purpose and fatigue is becoming Europe’s quietest public-health emergency.
A system on the edge
Hans Kluge, the WHO’s Regional Director for Europe, calls the trend “a health security crisis that threatens the integrity of our health systems.” His prescription is clear enough: end the tolerance for workplace violence, reform overtime practices, and ensure access to confidential mental-health support.
But for Cyprus, where nearly every nurse and doctor has a story of an angry patient or a bullying superior, policy reform may not be enough. The island’s health system has modernised rapidly since the introduction of Gesy (the General Healthcare System), but the human infrastructure has not kept pace.
With Europe facing a shortage of nearly one million healthcare workers by 2030, Cyprus cannot afford to lose its few to burnout, despair, or abuse. The irony is cruel: those who care for everyone else have become the ones most in need of care themselves.
