Angry GPs are planning a protest. Seven thousand surgeries are at risk of closing for two days

“We are preparing a prosecution campaign for the end of October. We want a change in the repayment order for next year, which does not mean additional money. Hospitals prefer the current terminology, and there is a lack of money for primary care, which is even becoming less than the average,” said Šonka to Novinkám.

According to him, this has not happened since 2018. The attempt was to make the field more attractive and attract young doctors to it. There is an acute shortage mainly among pediatric GPs, at the same time additional demands are being placed on them.

“If this does not happen, we will suspend the operation of our surgeries for two days – October 29 and 30,” he said.

The average increase in health care reimbursements proposed by the Department of Health for the next year is 3.3 percent. Primary care is expected to grow by 2.83 percent.

Doctors believe that the ministry will adjust the payments to mutual satisfaction within two weeks. The resort must issue the order for next year by the end of October.

“We assume that most general practitioners will participate,” said Šonka. In the Czech Republic, there are about five thousand general practitioners for adults and about two thousand practitioners for children and teenagers.

The Ministry of Health has promised for the next year that the costs and income of health insurance companies for care will be balanced, and the increase in reimbursements has also been adjusted for this. However, hospitals with intermediate treatment and follow-up care will receive significant support, their payments will increase by more than 10 percent according to the proposal.

Reimbursements to GPs increased by the same amount this year, ie 10 per cent and to paediatricians by 17.5 per cent. These were priority areas with the aim of improving access to care.

Due to the lack of money, GPs and some outpatient specialists also protested in 2017 Back then, according to Šonka, it was different, they solved many problems, not just underfunding the field

“Back then, the aim was to draw attention to the terrible situation that had arisen and nothing was done about it. The goal was not to change the repayment order, there was more,” said Šonka.

Practitioners and travel experts at that time were against, for example, low payments for patient records, lack of ability or restrictions in prescribing drugs, but also against excessive bureaucracy related to EET or against eRecept.

The protest ended in 2016, the doctors and then minister Svatopluk Němeček agreed on a solution. A year later, with Minister Miloslav Ludvík (then ČSSD), no more. They obviously closed the doctor’s office for the day. At that time, the doctors ensured that acute patients would receive care by posting information about where acute patients would be treated in the surgeries involved.