The drain in human resources in the medical profession in Hungary has not slowed since last year, according to figures released by the National Healthcare Services Center. Most doctors have traveled to the U.K., Germany and Switzerland looking for work. In the first six months of this year, a total of 324 doctors, 78 dentists, 327 healthcare workers and 19 pharmacists in Hungary requested permits for working abroad. This is almost as high as the number of permits issued in the full year of 2016, business and economic news portal vg.hu reports. Most doctors have sought employment in the United Kingdom, Germany and Switzerland, but also in Romania, Malawi and Denmark. Nurses prefer Germany and Austria. Based on official statistics, online news portal index.hu reports that most vacant positions are in the areas of anesthesiology and intensive therapy. Zoltán Ónodi-Szűcs, minister of state for healthcare at the Ministry of Human Capacities, cited areas with the most acute labor shortages in Hungary as vascular surgery, youth psychiatry, orthopedics and traumatology. In Nógrád County in northern Hungary, there is a labor shortage in all areas of healthcare, he added. Source
