Frustrated Eastern European doctors head west
More and more eastern European doctors are heading west as government economic austerity measures eat into their pay and conditions deteriorate, leaving behind understaffed health systems in crisis.
From Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania, growing numbers of physicians, surgeons, anaesthetists and other specialists are packing up for countries like Britain, Germany and Sweden.
“There are no prospects for me in Hungary,” said surgeon Csaba Andok, who is in his fifties. “I am leaving for Germany where my work is appreciated,” he told AFP.
Last year 1,111 physicians applied to the Hungarian government for a certificate allowing them to work abroad, up 25 percent from 2009, according to the ministry of national resources.
This may represent just a fraction of the country’s 30,000 practising doctors but, in a worrying trend for the future, it involves many of the 800 new graduates a year.
“Discontent is widespread among doctors, primarily due to deteriorating salary conditions,” Andok said.
Their caseloads have increased over the past year for the same pay, which at 550-740 euros ($780-1,050) a month is comparable to that of a waiter in a trendy cafe.
“Work is carried out by a very limited staff and the shortage of personnel makes daily pressure unbearable,” Andok said.
The economic crisis that hit Hungary in 2008 led the government to impose stiff austerity measures including a sales tax hike, the scrapping of 13th-month annual bonuses and reduced heating subsidies.
The picture is no rosier in Romania where medical professionals have seen their salaries cut by at least 13 percent since the government introduced cost-cutting measures last July.
The number of doctors wanting to leave the country almost doubled in 2010 to 2,779 from the previous year, according to official figures.
In Boedapest 
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