In 2025, the Netherlands is facing a shortage of an estimated 100,000 to 135,000 healthcare workers. This shortage affects both elderly care and hospital care, and continues to grow each year due to an aging population, staff attrition, and rising demand for care. In this article, we answer the most frequently asked questions about the healthcare staffing shortage and what can be done about it.
How many healthcare workers are missing in 2025?
In 2025, an estimated 100,000 to 135,000 healthcare workers are missing in the Netherlands. This makes the healthcare staffing shortage one of the most significant labor market challenges of our time. Without structural measures, this shortage will only grow in the years ahead.
The shortage is not new, but its scale is increasing. The combination of an aging population, high rates of sick leave among healthcare staff, and a large outflow of experienced workers makes the gap between supply and demand increasingly difficult to close. Healthcare organizations feel this every day: schedules that can’t be filled, overburdened staff, and vacancies that remain unfilled for months.
Which healthcare sectors are hit hardest?
Elderly care and home care are hit hardest by the healthcare staffing shortage. Hospitals and mental healthcare (GGZ) also face significant shortages, but the pressure in long-term elderly care is the greatest due to the rapid increase in the number of people requiring care.
The shortage is most acutely felt in nursing homes and residential care facilities. Demand for care placements is rising while the supply of qualified staff falls short. In home care, the same problem applies: clients wait longer for assistance or receive fewer hours than they need. Hospitals are seeing wards temporarily close or surgeries postponed due to a lack of nurses. Mental healthcare is also experiencing long waiting times, partly as a result of insufficient capacity caused by staffing shortages.
What are the main causes of the healthcare staffing shortage?
The healthcare staffing shortage has multiple causes that reinforce one another. The three most significant are an aging workforce, high workloads leading to staff attrition, and insufficient intake of new healthcare professionals through training programs.
A large proportion of current healthcare workers belong to the older generation and will be retiring in the coming years. At the same time, fewer young people are choosing to pursue a career in healthcare, partly due to the high workload and relatively low pay in some sectors. Workers who do remain in healthcare are more frequently absent due to burnout or work-related health issues. This creates a negative spiral: fewer staff means more pressure on those who remain, which in turn leads to further attrition.
How great will the demand for care be in the future?
Demand for healthcare in the Netherlands is expected to grow by approximately 6 percent per year. This means that the need for care services will increase substantially over the coming decades, while the supply of healthcare workers will not automatically keep pace. The gap between supply and demand therefore grows larger every year.
The aging population is the primary driver of this growth. The number of people aged 75 and over in the Netherlands will increase significantly in the coming years, and this group in particular requires intensive care. In addition to elderly care, demand for mental healthcare and chronic care is also rising. If demand for care continues to grow at 6 percent per year while the supply of healthcare workers does not grow proportionally, technological and organizational innovations will be essential to maintaining the quality of care.
What solutions exist for the healthcare staffing shortage?
Multiple solutions exist for the healthcare staffing shortage, ranging from better employment conditions and smarter scheduling to the use of technology and AI to relieve the burden on healthcare workers. No single solution is sufficient on its own; a combination of measures is required.
The most widely used and promising approaches are:
- Better working conditions and higher pay to reduce attrition and increase recruitment
- Smarter deployment of healthcare staff through task differentiation, allowing highly qualified workers to focus on complex care
- International recruitment of healthcare workers from other countries
- Investment in training programs and making a career in healthcare more attractive
- Technological innovation, including AI-driven monitoring that partially takes over night shift and supervision tasks
The combination of reducing staff attrition and making smart use of technology offers the greatest chance of achieving a structural improvement in the situation.
How does AI help solve the healthcare staffing shortage?
AI helps address the healthcare staffing shortage by taking over tasks from healthcare workers that do not require human contact, such as nighttime supervision and monitoring clients at risk of falling. This allows healthcare workers to direct their time and attention toward care that genuinely requires human presence.
Smart monitoring software continuously watches over clients, detects unsafe situations such as a fall or a restless sleeping position, and alerts healthcare workers only when action is truly needed. This reduces unnecessary check rounds, lowers workload, and enables fewer staff to safely support more clients.
How Kepler Vision Technologies helps address the healthcare staffing shortage
At Kepler Vision Technologies, we develop AI solutions that help healthcare organizations manage the staffing shortage without compromising on quality or safety. Our software, Kepler Night Nurse and Kepler NurseAssist, monitors clients in elderly care facilities and patients in hospitals around the clock, 24/7.
Here is what our solution specifically does for your organization:
- Immediate fall detection: healthcare workers receive a notification within seconds of a fall, so no emergency ever goes unnoticed
- Minimal false alarms: just one false alarm per 92 days, which is 1,000 times better than outdated technologies
- Privacy guaranteed: footage is never viewed by humans; a staff member only enters the room when the software requests it
- Fall prevention and sleeping position recognition: proactive alerts before a situation escalates
- Easy implementation: a plug-and-play concept that is simple to plan, configure, and install
- Certified and compliant: meets ISO27001 and NEN7510 standards for maximum data security
Want to find out how we can help your healthcare organization with smart AI monitoring? Contact us and discover what Kepler Vision Technologies can do for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is AI monitoring in healthcare safe for client privacy?
Yes, modern AI monitoring systems such as those developed by Kepler Vision Technologies are specifically designed with privacy as a core principle. Footage is not stored or viewed by humans; the AI independently analyzes the situation and only alerts a healthcare worker when action is genuinely required. In addition, certified systems comply with strict standards such as ISO27001 and NEN7510, meaning data security is legally guaranteed.
How do I get started as a healthcare organization with implementing technological solutions for the staffing shortage?
A good first step is to map out the tasks that take up the most time for healthcare workers but do not require direct human contact, such as nighttime supervision or check rounds. You can then search specifically for technologies that take over precisely those tasks. Whenever possible, opt for plug-and-play solutions that are easy to implement without major IT investments, and involve staff early in the process to build buy-in.
What are the most common mistakes when addressing the healthcare staffing shortage?
A common mistake is relying on just one measure — such as international recruitment alone or technology alone — when the problem has multiple causes. The outflow of existing staff is also frequently underestimated: investing in job satisfaction, workload reduction, and career development is at least as important as attracting new staff. Finally, technology is sometimes introduced too late or too narrowly, meaning its potential to relieve the burden on healthcare workers is never fully realized.
Can AI fully replace healthcare workers?
No, and that is not the goal. AI is intended as support, not as a replacement for human care. Tasks that require empathy, communication, and physical care will always remain the work of people. What AI can do is relieve healthcare workers of repetitive supervision tasks, freeing up their time and energy for the care that truly requires human presence.
How long does it take before AI monitoring solutions have a noticeable impact on workload?
With plug-and-play systems such as Kepler Night Nurse, the effect is often noticeable within a few weeks of implementation, as unnecessary check rounds are immediately reduced and healthcare workers are disturbed or called in less often without cause. Structural improvement in workload and scheduling takes somewhat more time, depending on the size of the organization and how broadly the technology is rolled out.
What are the financial costs of AI monitoring compared to hiring additional staff?
Recruiting and onboarding a new healthcare worker involves significant costs, especially in a tight labor market where expensive staffing or placement agencies are often used. AI monitoring solutions typically have a fixed implementation and licensing cost that, over the long term, is considerably lower than the staffing costs associated with additional night shifts or supervision tasks. Many healthcare organizations recoup their investment within one to two years through more efficient scheduling and reduced reliance on external staff.
Are there subsidies or funding opportunities available for healthcare technology in the Netherlands?
Yes, various funding opportunities are available for healthcare innovation in the Netherlands, including grants through ZonMw, the National Health Care Institute (Zorginstituut Nederland), and regional development funds. In addition, some health insurers offer reimbursements or pilot programs for proven healthcare technologies. It is advisable to contact your health insurer or sector organization such as ActiZ to explore which schemes apply to your situation.
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This content was generated with the help of AI and it may contain mistakes