According to Czech Chamber of Doctors (ČLK) figures cited by Czech Television (ČT), 172 freshly qualified doctors left the Czech Republic to work abroad in 2011, compared to 135 in 2010. The chamber said the majority found work in medical institutions in Germany.       

The Largest Czech health insurer, state-controlled General Health Insurance (VZP), says it is spending all income as soon as it is received and its reserves would not cover even two days of operation: as a result the insurer says it may make late payments to doctors’ surgeries and hospitals for patient treatment; pledges to raise doctors salaries may have to be abandoned.  

In the case of emergencies like polytraumas, there is a “golden hour” within which a patient should be delivered to hospital following an accident. But with the exception of the Central Military Hospital, heliports and landing spots at hospitals in Prague are not only ill situated for transfers to operating theaters, they require patients to be taken considerable distances on stretchers or in ambulances.

Neither the Ministry of Health, the Doctors’ Trade Union (LOK), nor most individual hospitals are keeping statistics on the level of expertise of doctors who have resigned as part of the “Thank you, we’re leaving” campaign. In support of the protest, more than 3,500 hospital doctors have turned in notices, with their resignations effective as of March 1. But as the ministry cannot force hospitals to prepare analyses, how can it prepare emergency contingency plans?