The base rate for a beginning doctor in the Czech Republic today is 32 thousand crowns
According to the agency's forecast, by the end of this year the average salary of doctors will reach 84 thousand crowns, and nurses will receive 43 thousand crowns.
“Doctors and nurses are no longer Cinderellas. Today they are among the highest-paid professions in the country,” said Czech Health Minister Adam Vojtěch.
However, as Vinegret.cz notes, union representatives disagreed with the minister's conclusion. “Such income is achieved by doctors through enormous overtime. Many work two shifts. About half of the mentioned salaries come from overtime, whereas abroad their share is no more than 20%. It is impossible to constantly work in this mode, but often employees have no choice. There is an acute shortage of personnel in our field,” Martin Engel, chairman of the Medical Trade Union Club, told the portal Novinky.
According to him, the base rate for a beginning doctor in the republic today is 32 thousand crowns, and for the most experienced – about 56 thousand crowns. It is largely these inadequate salaries that cause the shortage of medical staff. Many qualified specialists leave to work in Western countries.
For comparison, the average salary in the healthcare sector in Germany, according to the portal Absolventa.de, is about 6,800 euros per month (approximately 174,800 crowns).