Health Ministry wants to concentrate complex surgeries in major centers — regional hospitals warn of department closures

The Czech Ministry of Health is preparing a reform under which, starting in early 2027, surgeries to remove bladder and kidney tumors will only be performed at large specialized centers in major cities. In 2028, the list of procedures to be shifted to these centers is expected to be expanded.

According to Pavel Hánek, head of the urology department at Příbram Regional Hospital, the changes would effectively mean the disappearance of urology departments in the hospitals of Příbram, Kladno, Kolín and Mladá Boleslav — all of which fall under the Central Bohemian Region. The reason lies in the accreditation system: to train young doctors, a department needs professional accreditation, which is only granted if it performs a certain volume of surgeries. If operations are shifted to large centers, that volume will drop, departments will lose their accreditation, and medical school graduates will stop coming to work there.

Representatives of the regions were supposed to meet with Ministry of Health leadership on Thursday to discuss possible adjustments to the reform. However, the meeting did not take place. “Unfortunately, the minister cancelled Thursday’s session, and it has been postponed to the end of July,” said Zuzana Žídková, spokesperson for the Central Bohemian Regional Authority.

Hánek warns that patients will be the ones to suffer most from the changes. He notes that patients at the regional hospital currently receive surgery within a month, whereas the typical waiting time in Prague is two and a half months. “I can’t imagine transferring our patients to Prague. And the major hospitals I’ve spoken with don’t want that either,” he said.

The Association of Czech and Moravian Hospitals has also spoken out against the planned reform. Its chairman, Michal Čarvaš, said the changes would “gradually restrict access to healthcare, weaken regional medical facilities, and worsen conditions for both patients and healthcare workers.” The association is proposing a compromise: creating centers with a “lower status” that could still carry out some of the more common procedures locally.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz