Health Minister rejects pressure of protesting doctors

Prague, March 1 (CTK) - Friday's protest of Czech doctors will not change the steps taken by the Health Ministry, Minister Leos Heger (TOP 09) told CTK Friday, thanking the doctors who have not joined the pressure action and are treating patients as usual.

The symbolic day-long protest has been organised by the Czech Doctors' Chamber (CLK) and the Doctors' Union (LOK), that say the ongoing reforms will worsen patients' access to health care.

Before the protest, the doctors asserted that hospital care will by no means be restricted. The staff will post up leaflets in hospitals and offer the signing of a petition Let's Save our Health Sector to patients, they said.

Some private specialists may close and leave a message for patients to seek treatment in a colleague's surgery.

No patient will be harmed. The protest is not aimed against patients but is in the latter's interest, the doctors said.

Heger assured patients that the situation in the health sector is not as critical as the protests' organisers say.

Health care is secured, health workers' pay has been growing and their are not threatened with unemployment, unlike workers in other branches, Heger pointed out.

Hospitals will be receiving less money from health insurers which will lead to delaying surgeries. Some hospital wards, including out-patient ones, will have to be closed down as a result of which patients' trips to doctor will become longer. Patients will also pay more for medicines, the protesting doctors say.

Heger dismissed their claims. He said health insurers' spending will rise by 1.5 percent to 230,849 billion crowns this year.

Moreover, there are certain reserves in the system because much of care has been provided unnecessarily and more medicines have been prescribed than what patients really consume, Heger said.

He said the reforms help rationalise the system, which is now prepared for the future period of economic growth, which would enable more money to be provided to selected types of care and doctors' pay to be raised.

"In spite of all protests, that repeat every year and that have had almost a vulgar character this year, it is quite clear to us what we are doing. Unfortunately, we cannot carry out the reform in a regime of financial development instead of a restrictive regime, which is unpleasant to all," Heger said.

The CLK's protest does not represent all doctors, he said.

General practitioners declined to join the protest as they had previously reached agreement with insurers on care financing.

Referring to the CLK's petition, Heger said he understands that patients trust the warnings of doctors, which, however, are untrue.

Some doctors take patients hostages, but there is no reason to do so, Heger said.