For decades, western Europe’s national healthcare systems have been widely touted as among the best in the world. But an ageing population, more long-term illnesses, a continuing recruitment and retainment crisis plus post-Covid exhaustion have combined, this winter, to create a perfect healthcare storm that is likely to get worse before it gets better. “All countries of the region face severe problems related to their health and care workforce,” the World Health Organization’s Europe region said in a report earlier this year, warning of potentially dire consequences without urgent government action. In France, there are fewer doctors now than in 2012. More than 6 million people, including 600,000 with chronic…