There is no question of bureaucrats sitting behind a desk making decisions about the transformation of the health care sector, who have no insight whatsoever - stated Péter Takács to the Magyar Nemzet. According to the state secretary of health, all changes should serve the purpose of better patient and emergency care. Regarding the attacks questioning his expertise, the state secretary stated: If he were Gyula Kincses (MOK president-ed.), he would not ask for the professional exam from someone who left the field precisely as a result of his state secretaryship.

- So far, fifteen thousand doctors have indicated that they wish to remain members of the Hungarian Medical Chamber (MOK). Therefore, the termination of mandatory membership does not empty the MOK. How do you see this?

– We state that the aim is not to abolish the chamber, it never was. The goal is good patient and emergency care. The institution of compulsory membership had to be abolished because the chamber abused its power, exclusion from membership was a tool in the hands of the public body that was capable of instilling fear in the members, doctors who wanted to work in the new on-call system had to fear that the chamber revokes their license. This threat has already endangered patient care. That is why the government was forced to act. The amendment to the law prevents the chamber from abusing its power. The disinformation campaign also contributed to this, which, in my opinion, is not worthy of a public body. And it is also unacceptable that the exercise of political pressure hits the patients. As for the number of members, it is important for the management mainly because the income of the chamber depends on it. The membership fee increased twice during the presidency of Gyula Kincses, so the annual membership fee of fifty thousand forints for the forty thousand chamber members represents a two billion forint limit. However, if the number of members decreases, the operating costs must also be cut.

By the way, the president of the chamber was Ferenc Gyurcsány, secretary of state for health, who uses the body to exert political pressure.

They wanted to persuade doctors not to be involved in the care of patients. What I also consider to be harmful in the chamber's communication: they intentionally confuse the freedom of treatment with care organization issues.

Government ideas aimed at strengthening the health care system do not interfere with the doctor-patient relationship based on the classic principle of trust. However, the state undoubtedly has an underlying responsibility in creating a modern and efficient health care system, and the social insurance company's job is to buy quality services with taxpayers' money. We try to meet these expectations when we transform an area by prioritizing patient safety.

According to the government's decision, wages will also be improved again. The first phase of the two-stage wage increase will take place from July 1, 2023, and another wage increase for nurses will follow in March of next year. The fact that, despite the economic situation created by the war and sanctions, as well as the withholding of EU funds due to our country, skilled workers, as well as employees who work in hospitals but do not have a medical degree, will receive a wage increase this July, is a sign of our appreciation. It was the responsibility of the Ministry of Finance to manage the amount spent on nursing wage increases even if Brussels did not give a single cent of the money owed to Hungary. Let's also not forget that in the last four years, nurses' wages have increased by 72 percent compared to the previous level.

There have been seven wage increases in the past nine years, and since 2016, the salary of skilled workers has increased two and a half times. Although the salary gap was open (as the salary of doctors increased fourfold), it should be noted that the wages of skilled workers also increased at a higher rate than the average wage in the national economy.

During the left-wing governments, however, the average salary of skilled workers was below the national average salary. I am also happy that the government accepted my proposal to permanently fix the basic salary ratio for doctors and professional workers. The seesaw is therefore over, the salaries of healthcare workers will always move in parallel from 2024 onwards.

Source and full interview: Magyar Nemzet

Featured image: Patika-online