So far, 374 missions with speedboats and over 804 with helicopters have been successfully carried out as part of the improvement of emergency medical services, Health Minister Vili Beros said on Friday at a conference organised by the Healthcare Employers' Association in Opatija.

The introduction of the helicopter emergency service has fully justified its implementation, as it has saved many lives, he said in a video message.

Beros mentioned the ongoing reform of the healthcare system and said: “We are striving to improve the healthcare system and increase the number of healthy life years in Croatia.”

Investments in human resources and the purchase of new treatment equipment

Existing national prevention programmes will be revised and new ones introduced – for the early detection of lung cancer and melanoma, as well as a pilot programme for the early detection of prostate cancer, said the minister, announcing the introduction of screening at national level.

The hospital system is being reorganised by transferring the founding rights of general hospitals from the counties to the state, while important strategic projects such as the revitalisation of the Immunological Institute and the completion of documentation for the construction project of the National Children’s Hospital in Zagreb are underway.

Beros also emphasised the investments in human resources and the acquisition of new treatment equipment, with a focus on the treatment of oncology patients.

“The project to implement 21 linear accelerators with associated equipment is worth 85 million euros and sends a clear message that we are strengthening the public healthcare system. This is a big step forward because when all linear accelerators are installed, Croatia will have a total of 25 devices, which corresponds to an average of 6.5 devices per million inhabitants, which is above the EU average.”