Hundreds Of GP Practices Permanently Unfilled In Hungary

  • 30 May 2017 8:00 AM
Hundreds Of GP Practices Permanently Unfilled In Hungary
According to data published by the National Health Insurance Fund, 352 general practitioner’s and 284 dentist’s practices are “permanently unfilled” in Hungary, daily Világgazdaság said. The number of GPs fell by 6.6%, from 5,159 to 4,817, between 2000 and 2015.

In the same period, cities and towns saw an average 9.6% growth in the number of doctors, while around 25% fewer work in villages and rural areas than in 2000, the paper wrote.

The areas worst hit by the shortage are Tolna and Somogy counties in the southwest, Békés in the southeast and Nógrád and Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén in the north of the country.

Meanwhile, patient numbers rose by a quarter between 2000 and 2015, the paper said. Of the active GPs, 44% are over 60 years of age and 11% are in their seventies.

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

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