Annegret Schnick
“Being part of a health care parliament means debating, research work and having fun”. This was one thought I had while attending the European Health Parliament in Brussels for the second time last Friday. The opening in the rooms of the European Economic and Social Committee by the host MEP Philippe de Backer was interesting to listen to. Guest speakers answered the question: “What are the future opportunities for a better European healthcare?” and presented their different views on this topic.
Five members of the German Young Lions Health Parliament were invited to join and exchange ideas with the seven committees of the European Health Parliament in Brussels.
“The topics like Big Data, access to therapeutic innovation and prevention of chronic disease are similar in both parliaments, but the members of the European Health Parliament have a special focus on the needs of the European citizens”, claimed Clemens Hoffmann, member of the German Health Parliament’s board. Similar to the German Young Lions the European Health Parliament is a platform for 80 young professionals to brainstorm about the possibilities for a sustainable health care system. Ute Linnenkamp, head of the German committee of demography, stated that “The European Health Parliament, initiated by Janssen, Google, the European Voice and the College of Europe, is a great platform to bring together people with a different personal and professional background”.
The work in different committees reveals that young reformers face similar challenges:
- The aim of the parliament is not always to find totally new ideas, but to support, discuss and extend innovations for future use.
- Due to a shortage of time, the committees have to specify their ideas to discuss the matter in detail. “The more you want to discuss the ideas in public and with stakeholder, the more content and arguments you have to bring forward”, said Prof. Dr. David Matusiewicz, vice president of the German Young Lions Parliament.
- Reality checks by experienced stakeholders and politicians are important as long as they are constructive.
- The results of the parliament can be divers- like presenting research work, bringing ideas forward or discussing topics with politicians.
In the end, 80 young people have the opportunity to discuss future solutions for a sustainable health care system in a free environment without prejudging their ideas.
