Doctor's Association board against 'general' privatisation of hospitals

The board of the Czech Doctors' Association, meeting on Saturday, has backed calls to prevent the privatisation of regional hospitals until a law on non-profit hospitals is passed. Association president David Rath said the board has no objections to private hospitals supplementing health care, but was against the "general" privatisation of existing state-run hospitals. In related news, representatives of a patients' rights association said over 77,000 people in Central Bohemia have signed on to a petition against privatising Czech hospitals.