Hungary’s health care devastated

According to hvg.hu, Paris-centred international economy organization, OECD published the results of its latest health care research on Friday. Hungary is at the bottom of the list in all categories.

Low life expectancy and health care expenses

To start with, OECD’s worldwide survey focused on life expectancy at birth and health care expenses per capita. Furthermore, it also investigated the most common causes of death in the world.

Spanish newspaper El País – where hvg.hu spotted the data – analysed the results carefully and not by chance. In fact, life expectancy at birth increased to 83 years in Spain. Thus, it stands in the second place behind Japan (83.9) among the countries OECD surveyed.

OECD average is 80.6 years while in Hungary life expectancy at birth is only 75.7.

To make matters worse, it is only Mexico, Brazil, Latvia, Lithuania, Colombia, Russia, Indonesia, India and South Africa that come after Hungary. The last place on the list goes to Pretoria, where life expectancy at birth barely exceeds 57 years.

OECD survey investigated health care expenses per capita, as well. In this regard, leading position goes to the USA (9,892 dollars/year; 8,488 EUR/year), while the OECD-average is 4,003 dollars/year (3,435 EUR/year). Unfortunately,

Hungarians can spend only half of that average sum on their health care, 2,101 dollars/year (1803 EUR/year).

The most common causes of death in Hungary are diseases of circulatory system in the first place and malignant tumours in the second place. These are followed by disorders of the respiratory system and external causes, like accidents.

Opposition concentrates on health care

Undoubtedly, thanks to the continuous bad results, opposition parties, especially Jobbik have been strongly criticizing the Government for long. Though officials say that wages are constantly improving,

more and more doctors and nurses leave to work abroad. As a result, there are long waiting lists and overworked staff in the Hungarian hospitals.

Meanwhile, debts of the hospitals have become gigantic again in the last couple of months. In addition, there is a growing number of scandals regarding the working and healing conditions in the Hungarian hospitals. As Daily News Hungary reported, according to an official report leaked in 2016 two-third of the hospitals should be closed because of outdated medical technology, financial shortage and the lack of qualified doctors.

Thus, it is not surprising that

the strongest Hungarian opposition party, Jobbik concentrates on creating a viable solution on the problems of the sector

and argues that the Government left health care behind. Furthermore, it is not by chance that the first and yet last national consensus Hungarian opposition parties could meet was about health care. The agreement gives some details on, for example, what future governments should do in order to increase Hungarian life expectancy at birth to a European level. Moreover, it contains how governments should raise wages and finance hospitals.

Source: hvg.hu