Prague, Nov 20 (CTK) – The number of doctors in the Czech Republic will start steeply decreasing in four years since they are ageing and are not replaced with young ones, Ladislav Dusek, head of the Institute of Health Information and Statistics (UZIS), told public Czech TV yesterday.
Even if the number of students of the faculties of medicine increased, the effect would be apparent in five or six years only, he added.
In 2018, 2019 and 2020, the country will face a more significant decline in the number of doctors since many of them will reach the post-retirement age of 65 and 70 years, Dusek said.
At present, graduates from the faculties of medicine make up for the lack of doctors. But it would not suffice after the number of retiring doctors rose.
About 850 people annually graduate from the faculties of medicine in the Czech Republic with the population of 10.5 million.
The country suffers from the lack of doctors now, but this is jut the beginning of the situation in the future, Dusek said.
“It is five past twelve, since if we raise the number of students at the faculties of medicine, this would be reflected in the system in five, six years,” he said.
More and more young doctors are needed. The average age of Czech doctors in some medical fields is 59 years now, which is not sustainable, Dusek added.
