This is how hospital waiting lists in Hungary look like before the second COVID-19 peak
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With most waiting lists having radically or moderately increased since June, Hungarian hospitals could face a major challenge as the second wave of the pandemic is expected to hit the elderly again.
As written on Menedzsment Fórum, even though hospitals are not as heavily burdened now as they were during the first wave of COVID-19, this could change in a few weeks when, after predominantly young cases, the pandemic is expected to reach the elderly again.
And this is not the only issue hospitals are expected to tackle with these days. Seeing how hard the first wave of COVID-19 hit the healthcare system, hospitals are still suffering from long waiting lists for many different kinds of surgeries. According to data from the National Health Insurance Fund (Egészségbiztosítási Alapkezelő), apart from only a few exceptions, many waiting lists are still getting longer and longer.
The most dramatic increase in waiting lists has been reported for cataract surgery (the number of patients increased to 10,421 from 259 in June).
What is a “normal” waiting list for these surgeries and examinations, in the big cities and in smaller communities? From what I have heard, witing months for an MRI is not uncommon.