Major trade union federations SSSH and MHS issued an appeal to the Health Ministry and the government on Thursday to refrain from what they described as steps to privatise Croatia's primary health care service through provisions in the new health care bill.

They also called the public to oppose the bill which, in their view, is likely to have a negative impact on the availability of healthcare services.

“We want reforms to be implemented, but we want reforms in which competent people in the Health Ministry would know how to manage Croatia’s health care system. We don’t want people who aren’t capable of organising anything, who can’t even secure basic working conditions and decent salaries for doctors, which seems to be their way of solving the problem of doctors leaving Croatia,” leader of SSSH, Mladen Novosel, said in a news conference on Thursday.

Novosel warned of the danger of introducing private medical practices and said they would turn into private businesses aiming for profit, making health care less accessible for ordinary people, particularly in smaller towns and remote areas like the Adriatic islands.

“Once again we appeal to the government’s common sense and political will, and call on them not to make the same mistakes made in the 1990s, which were the worst examples of transition and privatisation (methods). In 1997, the privatisation of the health care system was introduced through the back door, first with the introduction of leases, and later concessions, in primary health care. And now, 20 years later, (Health Minister) Milan Kujundzic wants to finish the job with (proposing) the complete privatisation of primary health care,” Novosel said.

The new bill, proposed by the Health Ministry earlier this month and expected to be passed by end of June.

The bill proposes abolishing the currently mandated minimum of 30 percent of doctors working at state clinics to be employees of the clinic, as opposed to doctors who have concessions to operate their privately-owned practices in the clinic.

Since the new provisions would allow all doctors in primary health care (including general practicioners, gynecologists, pediatricians, dentists, etc.) to open private practices wherever they want, it is feared that the state clinics system might experience an exodus of health professionals, adding to the already increasing trend of brain drain among doctors.

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