Hungary is also Performing Better within the field of Healthcare

February 28, 2014 2:36 PM

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's Speech at the Celebration Organised to Mark the Inauguration of the New Wing of the János Balassa Hospital in Szekszárd

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Greetings to all of you on this joyous day that is important to all of us. I am always happy to visit Szekszárd, which is after all one of Hungary's most ancient settlements and one of Hungary's most beautiful regions; it is easy to understand how King Béla I ended up staying here. Not to mention the wine, we all know what [the famous Hungarian writer] Babits said about that, so it is an honour to come to Szekszárd, but please allow me also to mention the fact that Szekszárd has always welcomed us, and me personally, with affection. I would like to also mention that that since my life has involved Hungarian politics I have always received the support of the people of Szekszárd, often more than I deserved. This is a good opportunity to thank you for having stood by us and supported us. Thank you for your reassurance, for your words of encouragement and also for your regular prayers.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I will now try to hold a rather reserved campaign speech, craftily including it into a hospital inauguration ceremony, while of course continuing to show suitable respect to the hospital and to the people who work here. And accordingly, please allow me to mention to you the fact that if the people of Szekszárd think back on the past four years then they may perhaps easily come to the conclusion that they have made quite a bargain with the current Government. After all, we have removed from your shoulders 5.8 billion forints in debt, more than 33 billion forints have flowed into the city as funding for various development projects, we have supported 587 initiatives in recent years; we launched a big drinking water improvement programme, and then there's also the development of this hospital, the construction of a city centre and of schools and vocational training institutions.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

My wish for everyone is to be involved in deals in which our debts are removed and we are given the money we require to realise development projects. And so all things considered, Ladies and Gentlemen, we can perhaps draw the conclusion that we have not spent the past fours doing nothing. And of course the other thing that is a source of joy to us all, including myself, is the occasion for which we have gathered here today. We are today after all celebrating the renewal and expansion of a highly regarded hospital that was founded over two hundred years ago, while in addition to its historic past, at present the hospital provides excellent care that is worthy of the 21st century to some 140 thousand people.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

And accordingly, this occasion is also suited to enable me to remind you of the fact that the huge change that has been occurring in Hungary since 2010 did not begin in 2010, but in fact much earlier, and healthcare played an important role in this. It was a long time ago and we all have many problems to grapple with and so perhaps few of you remember that in 2008 there was a referendum in Hungary, which gave rise to the solidarity that later also manifested itself in politics in 2010. And this solidarity came about to a significant extent with regard to the issue of healthcare, because the subject of the referendum was whether we should have to pay a daily rate when in hospital and a fee for visiting the doctor, not to mention higher education tuition fees.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The solidarity, the fruits of which we continue to enjoy today, in fact began with this 2008 referendum. I do not want to waste your time or bore you with recollections of the past, but to be able to assess where we are at present, as we have heard from Professor Muth [Lajos Muth, Director of the Balassa Hospital], and I will be speaking about that too a little later, we are far from being in a carefree period. And so in order to be able to assess the current situation in which we live it is perhaps not a bad idea to recall the fact that it was not that long ago that Hungary was very close to suffering the misfortune of having its whole healthcare system privatised. I still remember that in 2007 there were plans to establish a dozen or so health insurance funds and to place everything on business foundations, when a year later there came the western economic crisis and financial collapse. A reorganisation and privatisation under such conditions would have meant the mass squandering of national assets and would have resulted in the end of free healthcare. This is in fact what we prevented with this referendum.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This occasion also offers me the opportunity to provide you with a short review of what has happened within the Hungarian healthcare system in recent years. We have taken steps, successful measures, to eradicate regional imbalances. Because in view of the fact that local governments managed our healthcare institutions there were huge differences between people's prospects for receiving hospital care and recovering their health in one part of the country compared to the similar prospects of people living in other parts of the country. We established a uniform national system of state responsibility that enables every Hungarian to have a good chance – this is not yet the situation, but we are moving in the right direction – to enable every single Hungarian citizen to receive the same level of medical treatment.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We have established a scholarship system for hospital residents with which we have succeeded in stopping the outflow of our most highly-trained medical staff who, since they are so well educated, diligent and committed, are otherwise much sought-after throughout the world. There have also been wage increases. Of course we are still far from being able to talk about an Austrian, Western or German level of salaries, but we have nevertheless succeeded in achieving an increase in the pay received by hospital workers in a few steps, and this is perhaps something we should appreciate since we are in the middle of a crisis in Europe. We have also succeeded in reversing the trend of people going abroad to work. Figures for the number of healthcare sector workers who go abroad are today somewhat less than they were in 2009. I would also like to recall for you today the fact that we have also restructured the patient transport system. When we took office, the patient transport system had many similarities to those of third world countries. Since 2010, we have purchased 120 new ambulances and emergency vehicles, in addition to which a further 178 new ambulances are on their way. We have constructed 22 new ambulance stations and a further 60 have been renovated and modernised. In total, Ladies and Gentlemen, we have spent over 300 billion forints over the past years on the development of the Hungarian healthcare system. There are 400 development projects currently underway throughout the country.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

And now I would like to say a few words about this hospital. This hospital was also up to its neck in debt when the current Government took office, and by 2010 it had almost lost its ability to function. Szekszárd's hospital was one of the country's twenty most indebted hospitals and in 2013 we had to perform a state consolidation worth 880 million forints to keep it running. You have just heard that we have not only constructed new buildings, but the hospital has also been fitted with new medical equipment. We are all proud of the fact that the disgraceful state of affairs in which there are some counties in Hungary with no MRI equipment will finally be done away with, or at least that Tolna County is now no longer a county of this kind. And so in totality what I would like to say to you, Ladies and Gentlemen, is that Hungary is now also performing better than before within the field of healthcare, but is still not performing well enough, and this is the point where I must continue on from the thoughts expressed by Director Muth.

The situation is not at all that we would like to win the upcoming elections so that we can finally sit back in our executive chairs and relax. The situation is that Hungary still has much work to do. Director Muth was right: we may be celebrating now, but if we take a look at the figures then this hospital is not out of the woods yet and there are without doubt other medical institutions in Hungary that will also require help in the future. The reorganisation has taken place and we have been given the chance to have a well-functioning state healthcare system, but we certainly still have a lot of work to do to enable hospitals, hospital management, doctors, nurses and primarily patients to feel secure. And accordingly, the period ahead of us will not be a vacation, Ladies and Gentlemen, but will be spent with hard work. But all the work that we have ahead of us is no reason for us to turn back to the chaotic and desperate state of affairs that we had to assume and correct in 2010.

And accordingly, Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to ask the voters of Hungary, including the people of Szekszárd and its surrounding area, to think calmly and collectedly back on Hungary's past few years. Compare the state of the nation to where we were four years ago. Think about the healthcare system and think about the reduction in public utility prices; think about everything that has given us hope for the future and compare this with the situation we began from, and then on 6 April let us go to vote calmly, collectedly and with suitable dignity and vote for the future. I would like to repeat: our future will not be free of struggles, it will not be free of having to decide on difficult issues and it will not be free of heated debate either, but there is one thing that I am absolutely sure of, Ladies and Gentlemen! As a result of the solidarity of these past four years, this country, our homeland, does have a future. Seize the opportunity!

Go, Hungary! Go, Hungarians!