More time for care: tackling the care crisis

The future of care: Who will care for us tomorrow? 

In the social sectors, time is becoming the scarcest resource. According to projections, Europe could face a shortage of approximately four million professionals by 2030¹ . At the same time, demographic change is leading to a growing number of people who rely on care, and support. The result: Fewer and fewer professionals must care for more and more people, while the demands for documentation and administration continue to rise. 

What is needed, therefore, is not only additional staff but also structures that consistently reduce the workload on existing employees. If we fail to simplify processes, digitize them in a useful way, and make them more efficient, the system faces the threat of structural overload – a problem that additional staff alone will hardly be able to compensate for.

The biggest time drains in care 

The shortage of professionals is not the only reason for the growing time pressure. Complicated processes, disconnected systems, and repetitive administrative tasks also tie up valuable resources every day.

A particularly large amount of time is spent on:

• Documentation and administration: Services, observations, and changes must be comprehensively recorded. If this is done manually at first and later on a computer, it results in additional effort and a high risk of errors.
• Time-consuming communication: Follow-up calls, unclear responsibilities, and a lack of centralized communication channels make coordination between teams, relatives, and other stakeholders difficult.
• Time-consuming search for information: When data is scattered across different systems and communication channels, professionals must laboriously compile relevant information. This leads to interruptions, follow-up questions, and delays.
• Complex planning and coordination: Last-minute absences and schedule changes lead to time-consuming coordination and the manual reorganization of tasks, appointments, and routes.
• Time-consuming admissions processes: Information often has to be gathered across multiple stakeholders, forms, and systems. This takes time and delays the entire admission process.

Missed Care:  When there is no time left for care 

A lack of time is more than just an organizational problem. It affects the quality of care. When caregivers are constantly forced to prioritize, there is less room for personal attention. Changes are recognized later, and care increasingly follows the rhythm of the workday rather than the needs of the people being cared for.

In this context, research refers to “missed care.” This term refers to necessary care and support services that are delayed, cut short, or not provided at all due to a lack of time or staff. In elderly care, this particularly often affects mobility assistance, support with meals, and personal hygiene. If there is too little time for these tasks, client satisfaction declines².

For professionals, a constant lack of time means more than just increased stress. It also means losing the very time that led many to choose this profession in the first place: working with people. If they are unable to meet their professional standards over the long term, frustration and dissatisfaction grow. The consequences range from reducing working hours to leaving the profession entirely: According to the myneva Trend Study on Care & Social Services 2025, one in five professionals surveyed cites a lack of time for actual care as a possible reason for leaving the care and social sector.

Want to know what matters to professionals in the care and social sector in 2026? Register now for the European Care Summit and gain insights into the findings of the 2026 European Trend Study. 

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More time through digital support   

To provide significant relief to professionals in their everyday work, we need digital solutions that make processes more efficient. This reduces manual tasks and administrative burdens – leaving more time for providing personalized care to clients.

Five strategies for more time in care:

• Documentation via voice input: Mobile applications and AI-supported voice input enable documentation to be completed directly at the point of care, without the need for later transfer.
  
  
• Digital admission processes: Centralized inquiries, digital forms, and automated workflows reduce manual steps and speed up the admission of new clients.
  
  
• Making information centrally available: Interconnected systems prevent duplicate entries and ensure that up-to-date data is available at all times.
  
  
• Real-time planning: Transparent tasks, schedules, and capacities facilitate coordination and enable quick adjustments in the case of absences.
  
  
• Automated data analysis: Automated reports and up-to-date key metrics reduce manual effort. At the same time, discrepancies can be identified earlier and decisions are made more quickly.

Conclusion: More time for a future-proof care system

Demographic change cannot be stopped. However, we can influence the extent to which it strains the care and social sectors. As the need for care increases while there is a shortage of staff, digital systems become essential for ensuring reliable care.

When used correctly, digital solutions address the areas where a great deal of time is currently wasted: documentation and administrative processes. Automating processes frees up valuable time that can be redirected toward providing personalized care to people.

Giving professionals back time is therefore far more than just a gain in efficiency. It is a key prerequisite for enabling high-quality, compassionate care even under increasing pressure – and thus for ensuring the long-term viability of the care and social sector

Register now for the European Care Summit and learn through practical presentations and interactive sessions how you can significantly reduce the workload on professionals and free up more time for high-quality care.

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² Missed Nursing Care in Nursing Homes and Causes: A Systematic Review, National Library of Medicine,        2026