ZAGREB, Feb 20 (Hina) - At Thursday's session the government was presented a report on the reform of the health sector from 2000 to 2003, which offers a number of indicators on the improvement of the health of the nation.
ZAGREB, Feb 20 (Hina) - At Thursday's session the government was
presented a report on the reform of the health sector from 2000 to
2003, which offers a number of indicators on the improvement of the
health of the nation. #L#
Health Minister Andro Vlahusic singled out information about the
average length of life, a decrease in infant mortality and the
number of suicides, increasingly better results of organ
transplant projects, and good results in a number of activities,
such as the "Say Yes to Non-Smoking" campaign. #L#
Vlahusic said the network of health institutions and the number of
doctors would be organised better because the disproportion in
counties was still extensive. For example, Zagreb has 4.18 doctors
per 1,000 people, while Lika-Senj County has only 1.34.
Government members especially applauded the fact that the health
sector was increasingly discussed in terms of economic
categories.
Nine percent of GDP is being allocated for the health system, which
places Croatia among developed countries in Europe, despite the
fact that its GDP is significantly lower than that of this group of
countries.
A total of 17 billion kuna will be set aside for the health sector
this year, but if GDB does not increase there will not be sufficient
funds for the development of the health system, government members
said.
On behalf of the government, Prime Minister Ivica Racan called on
health associations to continue dialogue on what needed to be done
to improve the quality of health care.
The government will respect the working hours in the health system,
so medical staff are invited to dialogue outside their working
hours, Racan said.
(hina) lml sb