Coronavirus brings about exceptional changes in Hungarian hospitals

Two key decisions of epidemic emergency preparations

The National Health Insurance Fund (NEAK or as formerly known: OEP) highlighted two key decisions taken in the coronavirus pandemic. 

1. Starting on 7 April, 60% of the total bed capacity financed by the NEAK had to be gradually adapted to the treatment of COVID-19 patients. Minister of Human Capacities Miklós Kásler has a peculiar recollection of this whole process.

2. Another decision was also made in order to reduce the basic pressure on the health care system. As of 16 March, pre-scheduled health care services were allowed to be provided only in case of emergency (life-threatening condition or to prevent permanent health damage). This was in effect until May when the health care system started to be gradually re-opened.

Decline in health care services

The financing of acute hospital care in Hungary is based on a case-mix system called Homogeneous Disease Groups (Homogén Betegségcsoportok, HBCS).

The NEAK found that the number of HBCS cases dropped sharply to cc. 90,500 by end-April from 146,000 in March, 173,000 in Februray and nearly 178,000 in January due to the two aforementioned factors.   

Vacated beds

The report also clearly shows that putting off treatments and surgeries and the freeing up of hospital beds had a major impact on hospital bed utilisation. The capacity use dropped to 39.3% from 60% in March in the case of acute care beds and to 44.51% from 71% in the case of chronic beds. 

The report was shared by opposition MP Bernadett Szél on her Facebook page, and she pointed out that the figures make it possible to calculate how many beds (on average) the cabinet has taken away from patients last month. 

• The capacity reduction in the case of chronic beds implies that 7,400 beds were vacated. 
• In the case of acute care beds, 8,928 beds were freed up.

This means that from March to April the number of hospital beds in use declined by 16,239 on average. 

Compared to capacity utilisation in February, the number of hospital beds in use was reduced by about 24,500. 

As Hungary was preparing for a worst-case scenario in the coronavirus pandemic, AFP talked with the families of the victims of minister Kásler's "historic" handling of the crisis. (No kididing, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán praised Kásler, saying his "merits are historic" at how he managed the COVID-19 pandemic.)

Szél stressed that 

turning out patients from their hospital beds took place at an extraordinary speed, and 16,000 to 24,000 fewer patients are estimated to have been treated in the two months after February.

She highlights the case of rehabilitation beds where utilisation plunged by 57 percentage points between February (87.6) and April (30.3), which translates into a "loss" of 8,690 beds. 

Cover photo: a doctor wearing personal protective equipment at a ward prepared to treat COVID-19 patients in Szent László Hospital on 8 May 2020. Photo by  MTI/Károly Árvai/kormany.hu