Top 10 in Europe: Belgian healthcare system reportedly has hidden cracks
Belgian healthcare is one of Europe's ten most resilient systems, but remains vulnerable because of avoidable post-operative complications, sustained pressure on healthcare staff and a low score for environmental sustainability. This is according to the BD Healthcare Resilience Barometer 2026, published on Thursday by medical technology company BD, Belga News Agency reports.
The report assesses 42 European countries across four areas: patient safety, healthcare workers' wellbeing, care efficiency, and environmental sustainability. Belgium scores 60.9 per cent overall. Its strong position is due to high universal healthcare coverage (90 per cent), an above-average availability of doctors (80 per cent, compared with the European average of 50 per cent) and nurses (90 per cent, compared with 77 per cent), as well as good results in preventing post-operative wound infections (90 per cent).
At the same time, the report highlights several structural challenges. Belgium scores just 20 per cent for post-operative sepsis, well below the European average of 33 per cent. Such complications put hospital capacity under immediate pressure. "Complications often mean that a hospital bed remains occupied for an extra two to three weeks," warns professor Dirk De Ridder of UZ Leuven in the report.
Workload also remains a concern. Although Belgium scores highly for the availability of healthcare staff (74 per cent, compared with the European average of 56 per cent), nurse availability has fallen by ten points since 2024. Administrative burdens and non-clinical tasks eat into the time available for direct patient care.
Belgium performs particularly poorly on the new environmental sustainability pillar, scoring 23.3 per cent compared with the European average of 52 per cent. Avoidable hospital admissions, repeat tests and material waste all significantly worsen its environmental footprint.
"By reducing avoidable readmissions and extended hospital stays, we can also free up time for healthcare workers and capacity for other patients," concludes Sebastian Spencer, medical director at the Europa Hospitals.
Earlier, it was reported that Belgium had plunged in the Global Climate Ranking as transport emissions keep rising.
