Hungarian military short of medical officers

Budapest, May 2 (MTI) – Due to a shortage of medical officers, the Hungarian armed forces have difficulties in providing appropriate medical support to operations including ones in foreign missions, daily Magyar Idők said on Monday, citing military officials.

About half of the medical officer positions are vacant and doctors serving on staff are typically older than 35, the paper said, citing findings of a recent conference.

To perform medical services in foreign missions, the Hungarian army often has to borrow senior medical staff from the army’s central hospital or reduce the duration of assignment on those missions, the paper said, citing colonel Katalin Meglecz.

Colonel Zoltán Vekerdi, acting medical chief of the army, told the paper that higher wages and a career model allowing planning for the long term would be the only chance to resolve the shortage and urged a related decision without delay.

According to the paper’s information, a related scheme has been approved by the leadership of the armed forces and is now being dealt with on a ministerial level.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters