Government under pressure to resolve crisis over debt-ridden hospitals
The government was due to submit a report on the country's hospitals on Friday, amid mounting concerns over rising levels of debt. The Health Ministry has said the combined debt of the country's hospitals is some 800 million crowns, or 25 million dollars. Some pharmaceutical companies have taken the drastic step of supplying medicines on a cash-only basis to those hospitals which can't pay their debts. The problem has also taken on a political dimension - on January 1st the country's hospitals are due to be transferred from the state to the new regional authorities. Rob Cameron reports.
The opposition accuse the ruling Social Democrats of creating the problem themselves, blaming the government's decision to raise wages throughout the health sector, without giving hospitals more money to cover the increased costs. The government says if the hospitals were better run, there wouldn't be a problem. Mrs Souckova wants to reduce unnecessary hospital beds and "optimise the network" - which means dismissing poor management, introducing a new system of financing, and closing redundant hospitals.
But the problem of hospital debt has also taken on a political dimension. On January 1st responsibility for the country's hospitals will be passed from the state to the recently-established self-governing regions. Most of the regional authorities are controlled by the right-of-centre Civic Democrats, who are far from happy at being saddled with debt-ridden public services. They want the state to pick up the bill before the hospitals are handed over.
As for the patients themselves, Health Minister Souckova has sought to reassure the public that they will not be denied medical treatment simply because their hospital is in debt. That may be so, but doctors say the problem could deteriorate if the dispute is left unresolved.
