Without appropriate measures, the healthcare sector will continue producing new debts, writes the Supreme Audit Office (NKÚ) in its annual report for last year. The Office considers the way hospitals are managed, their compliance and control as a systemic problem of health policy. This is reflected in the debts that hospitals are generating - more than half of the audited hospitals have been producing losses, with the largest losses being generated by state-run hospitals. Last month, the Ministry of Health launched the first phase of the debt relief plan for public and private hospitals with a total of €585 million earmarked from the state budget.
29 health care facilities have signed up fort the first phase of the debt relief plan. Those interested in joining the scheme have to fulfill several obligations, including meeting a recovery plan and setting up supervisory bodies. The debt relief should be completed next year.
In the Office's view, the control of budgetary and financial management by the founders of hospitals is either minimal or formal, and the founders themselves have their own responsibility for the poor quality of hospital budgets. The Health Ministry is defending the plan, saying that the decision to join the plan is voluntary and is a chance for hospitals to reduce their debt.
