Wage increases, support for junior doctors, health-care development projects and increased resources are behind the turnaround, human resources state secretary Bence Rétvári told a press conference.

The number of doctors opting to leave Hungary to work abroad dropped by 19% between 2015 and 2016 and by 50% to the present compared with 2010-2011, he said.

The same measure for nurses showed a 15% annual drop last year, he added. Rétvári said a new four-year wage increase was already showing favourable effects in the sector, and this also applied to pharmacists and dentists.

Concerning healthcare spending, Rétvári cited OECD data showing an annual increase in resources since 2010. The data also show 14.5 doctors for every 100,000 Hungarians compared with an EU average of just 12.3.

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