More than 4,000 healthcare workers in Croatia will go on strike on Monday, Croatian media reports.
The union “Zajedno” says that blood tests will not be performed in hospitals and health centers, medical transportation, even radiation of oncology patients, will be stopped, the “Index.hr” portal reports.
This union is asking for a change in the regulation on coefficients and an increase in the base by at least 20 percent.
Krunoslav Kušec, president of the “Together” (Zajedno) union, said that 54 health institutions throughout the country will be involved in the strike.
“These are health centers, KBCs, general and county hospitals,” he stated and added that the number of institutions will be larger later.
When asked if there will be a complete collapse of the health system, he said that the collapse of the health system has been going on for a long time, and that the collapse will be more pronounced at the beginning of the strike.
He added that they did not receive support from other health unions for the strike, adding that the most important thing for them is the support of their members, and called on others who are discriminated against to join the strike.
Petra Medač Čorak, Head of the Medical Laboratory Diagnostics Department at the “Zajedno” Union , said that the Department of Pathology and Cytology and the Department of Clinical Radiology will be on strike at the Clinical Hospital Center in Zagreb.
“The Department of Pathology and Cytology will not process tissue samples that are used to make diagnoses, such as determining the presence of cancer. Also, in “We are issuing bodies of the deceased, but during the strike, it will not be possible to collect the bodies,” she said.
According to her, the radiology department will not perform magnetic resonance imaging, X-rays, densitometry or mammography, nor will it provide radiation to oncology patients.
When asked whether radiation urgently, she replied that radiation is not urgent, except for patients whose lives are in danger. “If it were, then the waiting lists for radiation and therapy wouldn’t be months long,” she added.
She says she expects support from patients and isn’t afraid of discontent. “They see the state we’re in, that we’re torn apart and that we’re not getting everything done.” “The understanding of patients means a lot to us,” said Čorakova.
The Croatian Ministry of Health announced that today they signed an Agreement with the “Zajedno” union on determining the essential tasks that must be performed continuously, and they told patients that they can rest assured.
On Based on the agreement, patients are provided with all necessary health care, which includes examinations and basic diagnostic procedures that must exclude an emergency condition in each patient, and thus the need for appropriate diagnostic or therapeutic procedures.
It is also stated that the functioning of emergency services in hospital 24 hours a day with all necessary emergency diagnostics available to determine diagnoses that require urgent treatment.
“This includes urgent therapeutic procedures without which the underlying disease could worsen or complications could arise that could endanger the health and life of the patient,” the ministry added.
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said he sees no reason for the announced strike by healthcare workers because they are not exhausted all the possibilities offered by the council for implementing coefficients.
Plenković says that only one union is organizing the strike while others do not support it and that the issue of coefficients is not subject to negotiations but is being passed unilaterally by the government.
He also added that salaries in healthcare are increasing year after year on average by 32 percent.
