Dr. László Argay, President of the Hungarian Association of Private Hospitals.
Current health situation in Hungary
In 2020, the covid disease brought a major change in the Hungarian healthcare system, the consequences of which we have been suffering ever since.
The hospitals at this time were only providing emergency care. The number of patients waiting for prevention and filtering, increased. The situation began to normalise at the beginning of 2022, but by then the waiting lists for surgery had increased dramatically.
In the 1-2 years after the covid outbreak, a significant number of doctors left the country, relocating to Western Europe. As a result, hospitals are still facing a significant shortage of doctors and nurses.
There are currently 90 state hospitals in Hungary. In 2021, there will be a major reorganisation of the health system, with the management of the health system being transferred to the Ministry of the Interior from the Ministry of Health, which will be discontinued. In each county, the largest hospital became the top hospital, with the head of the hospital managing inpatient and outpatient care for the whole county and free to reallocate capacity.
The private sector is small, with a maximum of 2 500 private hospital beds for every 100 000 hospital beds. 90% of private clinics are operating in the outpatient sector. But overall, they provide 20% of total patient care due to the greater efficiency of the private sector.
Main goals for 2024
- To participate in as many EU tenders as possible.
- Reducing waiting lists.
- Reduction of iatrogenic infections.
- Preventing and reversing doctor-nurse emigration
