Prime Minister Péter Magyar and Minister of Health Zsolt Hegedűs visited Budapest’s Uzsoki Street Hospital on Thursday to assess ongoing upgrades to the healthcare facility’s cooling systems as Hungary prepares for an extreme heatwave.
Péter Magyar shows progress in hospital air-conditioning modernisation
The two politicians toured the hospital alongside managers and staff members, inspecting public areas as well as the rooftop equipment that forms a key part of the hospital’s climate-control infrastructure. Their visit came just hours before a red heat alert was due to take effect nationwide at midnight on Friday.
Speaking during a live broadcast from the hospital, Magyar said one of the first measures adopted by the Tisza government after taking office was the allocation of more than HUF 3.6 billion in emergency budget funding for the replacement and modernisation of hospital air-conditioning systems across the country.
According to the prime minister, renovation and development works were launched immediately in 32 hospitals. Uzsoki Street Hospital was selected for Thursday’s inspection because it was among the first institutions where a major cooling-system upgrade had already been completed.
HUF 130 million investment completed
Péter Magyar noted that the replacement of the hospital’s liquid chiller units was carried out within a matter of days at a cost exceeding HUF 130 million (appr. EUR 365,800). However, he stressed that the work does not mean all climate-control problems at the more than 800-bed hospital have been resolved.
Parts of the facility are still affected by failures in older cooling systems, illustrating the scale of the challenges facing Hungary’s healthcare infrastructure after years of underinvestment.
The prime minister recalled that he had begun visiting hospitals nearly two years ago, together with MEP András Kulja, a physician by profession, to draw attention to poor conditions in healthcare institutions, including non-functioning or entirely absent air-conditioning systems.
New heatwave coordination measures
Magyar also announced that the government had approved a decree on Wednesday aimed at coordinating national responses to extreme heat. Under the new framework, he will personally oversee the effort, working alongside ministers responsible for defence, interior affairs, healthcare, transport, economic affairs and investments, as well as the national security chief adviser.
He warned that the approaching heatwave would place extraordinary pressure on hospitals, emergency services, transport networks and the wider population.
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Message to the chief prosecutor
During the visit, Péter Magyar also used the occasion to address Chief Prosecutor Gábor Bálint Nagy. Speaking from the hospital rooftop, he called on the prosecutor to provide an update on the investigation into the so-called “Ukrainian gold convoy” case. He also created a separate post of his message on social media.
The prime minister said the public deserved answers regarding the progress of the inquiry, including who had been questioned as suspects and what investigative steps had been taken in recent weeks. He added that if no information was provided by the afternoon deadline he had set, he would reveal additional details during a government briefing later that day.
