The number of patients on hospital waiting lists was 70,000 in 2012, which was reduced to 32,125 by November 2015, Zoltán Ónodi-Szűcs told a press conference.

By now the number of people awaiting surgery has been reduced to 27,959, he added. Zsolt Kiss, head of the National Health Insurance Fund, said the number of waiting lists and waiting times had also decreased.

The wait time for cataract surgery, for example, has dropped to 90 days from 600 days, he said.

Patients awaiting hip replacement surgery now only have to wait 311 days compared to the earlier wait time of 658 days and the wait time for knee replacement surgery has dropped to 371 days from 906 days, he added.

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.