Iran’s healthcare system is facing a critical shortage of nurses, a deficit that experts warn is putting patients at increased risk of medical errors, substandard care, and even death. Ahmad Nejatian, head of the Nursing Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran, recently highlighted the urgency of the situation, sharing sobering statistics on the nurse-to-patient ratios that reveal how far Iran falls below global standards.
According to Nejatian, the global average nurse-to-bed ratio is 3.5, while Iran’s is a concerning 1.8. Over recent years, the situation has worsened, with the nurse-to-bed ratio dropping as low as 1.1. If this trend continues, he warned, this figure could soon dip to between 0.9 and 1, exacerbating already challenging conditions in hospitals and healthcare facilities across the country.
Nejatian attributes much of this decline to the exodus of healthcare workers from the public sector. Official data from the Ministry of Health indicate that over 1,500 nurses left the profession last year alone. However, this figure only accounts for the public sector, excluding private sector nurses and recent graduates who have yet to enter the workforce.
