South Bohemia first region to provide medical emergency services online

The South Bohemia Region will launch an online medical emergency service for both children and adults that will be available 24 hours a day, starting on August 1, the governor’s office announced on its website. South Bohemia is the first region in the Czech Republic to offer this service, in response to growing complaints about a lack of general practitioners outside of the big cities. Due to a shortage of GPs in smaller towns and villages it is proving increasingly difficult to maintain emergency services in many areas. The online emergency service will be available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, free of charge. The costs, amounting to around 14 million crowns a year, will be covered by the region.