Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Davor Bernardic said on Saturday that it was time Croatians became equal to other EU citizens in terms of the quality of healthcare and monthly income.

“The debt of the Croatian health sector has never been higher, waiting lists for specialist examinations have never been longer, the exodus of doctors, nurses and other medical staff has caused a chronic shortage of medical staff in our country,” Bernardic said at a panel discussion on healthcare policies his party organised in Slavonski Brod.

“People wait for examinations for months, some even for years. One of the key messages of our healthcare policy is that Croatians should be equal to other EU citizens as regards healthcare as well as in other respects,” he said.

“Just as we have European prices, so we should aspire to European salaries. This means that we won’t give up on our plan for a wage increase because low wages are one of the main reasons why people are emigrating. More than 100,000 citizens have emigrated during this government’s term,” said Bernardic.