Doctors’ union says more than 3,500 doctors have quit over salary conditions

Just over 3,500 Czech physicians (out of 16,000 doctors in all) have handed in their notices in protest of salary conditions, the doctor’s union confirmed on Monday. The departures will affect 78 of the country’s 200 hospitals, with the situation worst in the Vysočina region (the Czech-Moravian Highlands). Zlín, Moravia-Silesia and Ústí nad Labem will also be hard hit by the departures. In view of the two-month period of notice, doctors will stop working on March 1. As a result, some hospital wards and even entire hospitals may be closed, while other facilities may have to provide only emergency care. Last week the Health Minister Leoš Heger urged doctors to reconsider their departure to allow time for planned reforms which he said should redirect funds towards salaries.

Author: Jan Velinger