It is unsustainable to have to wait many years for serious and relatively uncomfortable surgeries
– said György Velkey. He stated that the biggest difficulty is that the available nursing staff and, in some places, the operating room staff need to be replaced. In a previous interview, Velkey said that operating theaters cannot operate at full capacity because there is a shortage of operating room assistants, anesthesiologists, operating room technicians, and operating room doctors.
According to the president of the Hospital Association, the lack of labor is a general feature of state care.
Péter Takács, the Health Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior, reacted to György Velkey’s statements. According to him, there are not a few doctors in proportion to the population, but there are increasing inequalities in certain professions and areas. He considers the shortage of skilled workers to be more significant, which is why they will receive a salary increase next March, for which 240 billion forints have been allocated from the budget.
Regarding the waiting lists, Péter Takács said that, in his opinion, the lack of information is the cause of the accumulation in the case of some hospitals. He added that in case of reducing the waiting lists, the directors of the county hospitals should manage the tasks between the hospitals well, and the patients should be offered the opportunity if they can get their turn in another hospital sooner.
Cover image source: Getty Images
