At least twenty-six thousand workers are missing from basic care, outpatient and inpatient care, with whom a more balanced health care system could be provided, said Zoltán Balogh, President of the Hungarian Chamber of Health Care Professionals (MESZK).
The shortage of skilled workers is even more significant than the shortage of doctors, he added. As an example, he mentioned that in Hungary there are three specialists per doctor in total health care, while in the EU on average four, but in developed countries, such as the Netherlands, more than six specialists help the doctor, and in the United Kingdom almost nine.
The MNB’s proposals point in the right direction, but they can only be implemented if there are enough specialists. One of the conditions for this is adequate pay. In addition to wages, it is also important under what circumstances and with what workload professionals have to perform their tasks. There is a special overtime system in place in the health sector, which allows you to order an additional eight hours per week. This means that those working in the sector work up to 400 to 416 hours more legally each year. But they can also voluntarily take an extra 12 hours, which on average doesn’t exceed 60 hours in a six-month period – so there could be a week where a nurse works 12 hours six times, and you can work up to 1,040 hours a year.
debreceninap.hu
