Government ploughs HUF 30,000 billion into healthcare sector since 2010
Varga said the government had allocated resources for infrastructure developments, pay rises for doctors and nurses, and investments in healthcare industry manufacturing, putting the sector “back on its feet”. He added that HUF 3,200bn had been earmarked for healthcare in this year’s budget, HUF 2,000bn more than in the 2010 budget.
In spite of a government decision to postpone HUF 675bn of projects, the government will plough about HUF 2,000bn into investments this year, Varga said.
He noted that GDP growth reached 1.5pc in the first half and said the government counted on the economy expanding 3-3.5pc for the full year. The government is working to boost growth over that, and healthcare investments can help, he added.
Peter Takacs, the state secretary for healthcare, noted that HUF 133bn in government funding had been channeled to the Healthy Budapest Programme. That funding was complemented with close to HUF 100bn for hospital renovations during the pandemic, he added.
Zsolt Ralovich, the director of Saint John’s Hospital, where the investment was made, said the trauma department there had taken in over 60,000 patients last year.