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New Doctors Leaving Czech Republic for Better Conditions

11. 3. 2010

Last year, immediately after finishing their university courses, 60 out of the 780 new doctors went abroad to work for better wages. Hundreds of soon-to-be doctors are planning a protest meeting in Prague this Saturday, and hope to discuss directly with the Health Minister, Dana Jurásková, who promised to come to the event. One of their main complaints is that, as students, they have to do the so-called residency time in hospitals and clinics, but that they are seldom able to do it for more than a couple of hours per week, getting paid such low wages that it is impossible to survive with dignity from them. Many hospitals take advantage of the money they get paid by the State to take in the Medicine students for residency stints, but they misuse their cheap labour. Some members of a Facebook group that unites over a thousand young doctors are asking for a general resignation: they want to make themselves heard by quitting en masse their residency jobs. Their gains of 2,600 Czech crowns per month (plus the State aid of about 8 thousand) are lower than those of an illiterate construction worker.

Billions of Czech Crowns Wasted in the Health Sector

According to a research done by the Czech public health insurance organ, up to 30 percent of doctor's services are practiced unnecessarily. Czech patients often have the habit of visiting more than one specialist for the same illness or suspicion of malady. At the same time, lots of doctors register for exams and other steps they have actually never performed, so as to get more money from the insurance.

Civic Democrats Against EU-imposed Big Brother Laws

The center-right Civic Democrats (ODS) want to review the laws that allow police to request phone companies the recordings of phone calls up to 6 months old. Telephone operators have recently been ordered to keep all calls recorded for this amount of time, for potential release in case of judge-approved investigations. They are basing their plan in a similar situation that happened in Germany, when the Constitutional Court made the law invalid.

Social Democrats' Leader Wants to Expose Pictures of Opponents Online

Former premier Jiří Paroubek wants to take photographs of activists who make public protests at his campaign events. By this he aims to prove that they are probably hired by the opposition to agitate against him and the Social Democratic Party (ČSSD). Last year he was constantly hit by eggs, thrown by such activists in various parts of the country. He believes they are not the manifestation of a wider sentiment against him, but by a group of the same persons committing the attacks in a coordinated way. More than 30 thousand Facebook users became member of a group created in reaction to the former prime minister intentions: "Fotka pro Paroubka" (A picture for Paroubek) offers photos of users showing their middle finger to him.

Czechs Refusing the Swine Flu Vaccine

After even President Václav Klaus and prime minister Jan Fischer refused to take shots with the vaccine against the H1N1 virus, popularly known as the swine flu, most of the population seems to have followed the country's leaders. Even patients with suspicions of being contaminated by the virus are refusing the vaccine, because it may even worsen their symptoms. The government has already made an agreement with the vaccine producers to lower their order in 300 thousand doses and declared that will reserve some 100 thousand of them for the future, in case a new wave of swine flu emerges.

Heads Roll over Human Rights Minister Affair with Spokeswoman

Minister Michal Kocáb, who is also in charge of minorities, offered to resign after it became public that he had been dating his spokesperson, Leila Abbás. A former pop rocker, he is also known for having coordinated the withdrawal of Soviet troops after the Velvet Revolution. After receiving the minister's letter of resignation, Prime Minister Jan Fischer requested to meet him and it was decided that actually Abbas should be the one to leave.

One World Festival Started

The traditional festival presents more than 100 documentaries focusing on human rights issues from 30 different countries. After Prague, the festival will tour 29 other Czech cities.

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Obsah vydání | Úterý 16.3. 2010