Overwhelmed national health care system leaves 126,000 Slovenian patients behind: survey

LJUBLJANA, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- The overwhelmed national health care system in Slovenia is in urgent need of reform, as 126,000 or more Slovenian patients are without adequate health care, Slovenian daily newspaper, Delo, reported on Tuesday.

The shortage of general practitioners and pediatricians is becoming more and more acute. As doctors are overwhelmed with patients, the waiting lines are extremely long, the report said, quoting a survey.

Frequently, doctors reject new patients, directing them to more costly specialist care. As a result, patients are flocking to urgent-care clinics even for minor problems, a situation that is jeopardizing the quality of emergency care.

Over half of hospitals were reporting losses before they were bailed out by state.

Furthermore, in four Slovenian cities, there are a total of 126,000 patients who cannot find an available family doctor, according to the Delo reports. Patients without a physician, however, are not able to take sick leave from work, nor get certain medications.

Even though the health ministry made a commitment to recruit 1,281 family doctors and 408 pediatricians by 2018, it is now clear this goal won't be reached.

As a result, Slovene medical organizations and academia have urged the government to take immediate measures to recruit new doctors and ensure safe and high-quality health care for all Slovenian citizens. Enditem