'Italian doctors oldest in Europe - retirement wave in 2025'

(ANSA) - ROME, SEP 11 - Italian doctors are the oldest in Europe with 55% of them over 55 and the number of retirements is expected to peak in 2025, the Italian Geriatric Society Hospital and Territory (SIGOT) warned on Wednesday.
    SIGOT said the retirement wave - with an estimated 13,156 doctors set to become eligible in 2025 - will be registered as medical professionals face a growing demand for assistance due to the population's aging.
    According to figures released by national statistics bureau ISTAT this year, over the past two decades residents over 65 years of age have increased by over 3 million to 14.3 million in Italy.
    At the same time, in 2021 in Italy 55% of doctors were older than 55, compared to 44.5% in France, 44.1% in Germany, and 32.7% in Spain being older than 55. After the peak expected in 2025, the president of SIGOT who works at Rome's San Giovanni-Addolorata Hospital, Lorenzo Palleschi said "only in 2030 we will be back to 2020 levels, with 7.471 annual retirements". (ANSA).