Croatia currently lacks up to 230 general practitioners and 170 primary care pediatricians, gynaecologists and speech therapists, MP Romana Nikolic (Social Democrats) said on Monday.

“As many as 180 doctors in Croatia are older than 65 years and work only out of sheer enthusiasm because they have no one to leave their patients to. 750 doctors are older than 60 and only 150 are currently undergoing specialised training,” Nikolic warned at a press conference in the eastern city of Osijek.

“If they were to retire now, about 300,000 people in Croatia would be left without their GP,” she said, adding that the country is facing a collapse of its healthcare system.

Nikolic said that young doctors are leaving general practice because of the lowest pay and the lowest compensation for work conditions in the system.

MP Domagoj Hajdukovic, deputy leader of Social Democrats, highlighted the problem of internship, which graduates are required to complete in order to obtain a licence and enter the labour market.

Graduates wait for several years to do an internship. During that time many of them decide to leave Croatia, Hajdukovic said, adding that about 3,000 people are currently waiting for an internship and the health minister has announced that only 1,500 places will be ensured for this year.

The main problem is that the government has not secured enough money for all medical graduates to complete an internship programme in a reasonable time, he said.

Hajdukovic also noted that many elderly people have limited access to healthcare and that this problem could be partly solved by setting up mobile clinics, palliative clinics and mobile pharmacies as part of outpatient clinics in local and regional government units.

These projects are of vital importance to rural areas and should be launched as part of the so-called Slavonia Project and with EU financing, Hajdukovic concluded.