November the 10th, 2024 – The previously announced Croatian health care strike is set for Monday. Despite this, emergency and urgent medical situations will still be dealt with as normal.
As Index vijesti/news writes, since news of the planned Croatian health care strike announced for Monday broke, the Health Ministry has reported signing an agreement with the Zajedno (Together) Union, which defined what will still be carried out for patients during the strike. Despite the strike, patients will be provided with the necessary health care through the agreed minimum activities that will still be being implemented.
It has therefore been defined in the agreement that the work necessary to maintain urgent and uninterrupted health care will be performed. That includes emergency/urgent examinations, diagnostics, therapeutic procedures, surgical procedures, intensive care procedures and similar urgent medical activities for all those for whom a strike could mean severe health deterioration or death.
The Health Ministry also pointed out that patients will be protected and remain calm because the provision of emergency services is entirely ensured.
The upcoming Croatian health care strike, scheduled for November the 11th, is being planned on the basis of the aforementioned Agreement. As such patients will continue to be provided with health care that includes:
examinations to rule out emergencies
This involves examination(s) and basic diagnostic procedures used to rule out an emergency in each patient, and thus the need to carry out appropriate diagnostic and/or therapeutic procedures.
emergency services within hospitals
The operation of emergency services in hospitals will continue 24 hours per day with the use of all available necessary emergency diagnostics in order to determine diagnoses that require urgent treatment. That includes urgent therapeutic procedures, without which there could be a worsening of any present disease or complications that could threaten the state of health and/or life of the patient. This is also the case in situations that, if left to worsen, could result in disability.
Procedures that will ensure that any present health condition doesn’t worsen or that complications do not occur
Next we come to the inpatient part of the hospital. Despite the Croatian health care strike, the implementation of all procedures that maintain any treatment process will be ensured. This will also be the case for the application of all diagnostic and therapeutic procedures to ensure that a specific disease doesn’t worsen. In addition, things will continue to run as normal in cases in which the delay of a procedure could lead to complications that could endanger the health and/or the patient’s life.
continuity and urgency in invasive diagnostics
The urgency and continuity of all invasive diagnostics in cases in which urgency is required and in all cases in which invasive diagnostics is part of the continuity of a patient’s therapy, will continue.
Emergency operations and surgeries that would endanger the life of the patient should they be delayed
Surgical activities without which a severe deterioration in health, disability or death would occur will continue as normal despite the Croatian health care strike. This regards all emergency procedures for patients received through the emergency services (such as by ambulance) and surgical procedures for patients who are already receiving hospital care.
intensive care (icu)
Despite the Croatian health care strike scheduled for Monday, the 24-hour presence of doctors and other health care professionals will remain as it normally is across all activities of intensive care (ICU).
health ministry: patients can remain calm
“The Ministry of Health would like to reiterate that patients can remain calm and that, in agreement with the directors of health services, the unhindered provision of the necessary health services will be ensured. The Ministry of Health always has an open door for all trade unions and is ready for further fair and realistic dialogue to find an acceptable solution through the institutional framework.
Accordingly, the issue of coefficients shouldn’t be the cause of the Croatian health care strike, therefore we emphasise that the Council for Monitoring and Improving the Salary System in the Civil Service and Public Services will analyse the adopted Regulation on coefficients and resolve any issues.
In conclusion, the Ministry of Health intends to use all legal instruments at its disposal to protect the rights of patients,” they concluded from the Health Ministry.
