The Czech Republic: Doctors want to Emigrate | European Journal

Large numbers of doctors and nurses are leaving recent EU members in eastern and central Europe. 2,500 Czech doctors have threatened to quit at the end of the year in a dispute over pay rates.There are currently 700 vacancies for doctors in the Czech Republic. In the countryside, the number of practicing doctors is sinking rapidly. Doctors are leaving for Germany and other western European nations where their earning possibilities are a lot better. But their departure leaves a gaping hole at home. Doctors from Belarus, Ukraine, Russia and India are moving to plug the gap. But the problems are simply being exported.

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News & Politics

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• Deutsche
• Welle
• Czech
• Republic
• DW-TV
• Europa
• European
• Journal
• Doctor
• Emigrate
• pay
• rates

[WHITECHALLENGE]

the general population is blind.... it doesn't understand that more money has to be invested on health and less on useless TVplasma and football... but they don't realize until they get sick or there's an emergency

[charlessmyth]

@DrrZevorubec Given all of that, the only option is for Czech doctors to abandon the profession, or abandon the Czech Republic.

[DrrZevorubec]

@charlessmyth

Doctors in private sector are strictly dependent on insurance companies. It is illegal to take money for your services, unless it is not covered by insurance company (plastic surgery). Even if patients would like to pay privately, they can't. In addition - if you work more than you worked last year in the same period, because of the limits of insurance companies you won't get paid for it. The costs for the "above-limits" number of procedures are then up to you to cover...

[charlessmyth]

The doctors can leave the Czech healthcare system and take a job that pays at least the same or better, for fewer working hours. They can also offer their services to those who want to privately pay them. The Czech government cannot force doctors to work for unreasonable wages without violating their human rights. Nor can the doctors take the moral high-ground, to force the Czech government to pay them what they demand.

[DrrZevorubec]

@charlessmyth

And speaking about wages: We've experienced quite a long history of occupation by the Soviet Union. During this period communist government used to say exactly what you've just claimed: "Everyone will have a wage of the same height, no matter what his skill, responsibility or job sophistication is."

Now I wouldn't say that this is a typical opinion of a "procapitalist", would you?

[DrrZevorubec]

Imagine starting working on Monday in the morning ( before 7am) and leaving on Tuesdays afternoon, starting your next working day following morning. This will not change until January 2013, when this exception ends. From this moment on, the czech healthcare system will not be able to provide as wide range of services as today, unless it will continue with violation of the directive. To follow this document we would actually need more doctors, than we have today...

[DrrZevorubec]

@charlessmyth

The problem definitely isn't the overproduction of new doctors, as you suggest. You might have heard about the EU Working Time Directive (year 2000), but what you may not know is a fact, that Czech Republic has got an EU-exception and doesn't follow this directive. Czech doctors have to work incredible amount of hours per week. Nightshifts on call, which I believe are then being compensated by law in your country are in CZ followed by normal working day.

[charlessmyth]

The problem may well be that the Czech Republic produces too many doctors, who then find that there is not enough illness to treat, in such a small country as the Czech Republic. In addition, the wages for doctors in Germany, may well be too high, which are a result of a too expensive and complicated training programme, which reduces the number of applications from those who could become doctors. There is no virtue in having high wages, for doctors per se, in comparison to other skills.