Hospitals will not be closed but they will be significantly restructured by the end of this government's term, Health Minister Rajko Ostojic said on Thursday after a government session.
He was asked by the press if some hospitals would be closed in the wake of Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic's question at the session whether Croatia can finance so many health institutions which provide average or below average services.
Hospitals will be significantly restructured, in line with the 2012-20 national health care development strategy and in line with transport connections and informatisation, Ostojic said.
Asked about hospitals with poor results, he said their owners would decide. "State-owned hospitals are doing excellent business and work well, and when it comes to county hospitals, it is the founders' obligation to care about their institutions."
Ostojic said pharmaceutical wholesalers were accusing county hospitals of not paying bills for three, four or five years, adding that a master plan to be adopted after the national strategy would clearly define how those hospitals would be structured.
