Absurd: Hungarian resident doctors’ headcount restrictions at the worst timing

It is unbelievable that headcount restrictions that are currently in effect in the public sphere concern Hungarian resident doctors’ applications as well. According to the Ministry, restrictions are only technicalities, but the trade union are still concerned, as Hvg.hu writes.

From dozens of applications, only a selected few can start the resident doctors’ training in the desired hospital this year. As it turns out, residents-to-be are employed only indirectly by the hospital: their contracts link them to the public sphere, the National Health Care Service Center in fact. The Hungarian health care system is in a horrible state today: lethal infections in the hospitals, millions taken away from renovations, huge debts.

The headcount restrictions could not come at a worse timing: both applicants and hospitals are in despair due to the great shortage of doctors and residents throughout the whole country.

But how come there are so few places for residents’ training?

The main reason for the limitation is the general tendency to restrain the number of workers in the public sphere. As a public sphere institution directly employs residents-to-be, the restraints also automatically apply to them. However, the 360 young doctors who finished in Budapest this year are legitimately confused – formerly they received information that the restrictions will not apply to them, which now turned out to be untrue.

Although hospitals can by-pass the involvement of the public sphere in the employment and can indeed directly employ young residents, this would come with huge costs for hospitals.