The prime minister said there was “no time like the present” after lawmakers passed doctor's pay rises earlier this week.
According to MTI, the prime minister said it was likely that the epidemic would endure for the next 7-8 months, and without a vaccine, doctors would continue to contend with a massive burden. Hungarian doctors “are among the world’s best”, he said, adding they were in demand abroad.
In addition to decent wages, the atmosphere in hospitals and good career prospects play a role in a doctor’s decision “whether to go or stay” in the country, PM Orbán said. The cost to the central budget of the wage hike would more than double, he said, putting the figure in excess of 200 billion forints (EUR 550m). PM Orbán said the wage scheme and the new rules on gratuity payments were drafted “meticulously”, based on the proposal put forward by the Hungarian Chamber of Doctors (MOK).
PM Orbán was asked about the chamber’s recent criticism of the measure passed by parliament on Tuesday which allows doctors to be assigned to different parts of the country. “We have a pandemic, assigning doctors is a matter of life and death,” he said, adding that doctors “cannot be just dragged back and forth” on a daily basis. “Hospitals must be well managed” and doctors should be assigned only “if there is a problem” in a particular area.
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