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HATC SAMPLE EDITION:
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21st October, 2026
Waiting list reduction effort coming
The government’s plan to shorten waiting lists for hip and knee replacement surgery may be implemented from November, Népszabadság reports.
The Tisza government had first promised the programme for early October, then mid-October, but the implementing regulations are not yet ready.
Participating hospitals will receive extra funding to perform more operations alongside their regular schedule, staff will receive extra pay, and operations could also be performed in the afternoon or at weekends.
Patients do not need to apply, as participating hospitals will contact them, but it is not yet known which hospitals will be chosen.
According to Népszabadság, around Ft 20 billion is planned for the programme, with the aim of significantly shortening waiting times by the end of 2027.
Data from the National Health Insurance Fund Administration indicates that patients waited an average of 295 days for knee replacement in August, compared with 126 days in 2019, while waits for hip replacements rose from 88 days to around 145.
In early June, 19,892 patients had been waiting at least 60 days for knee replacement and 9,796 for hip replacement.
Health Minister Zsolt Hegedűs said checks at some hospitals found that 20-30% of patients on waiting lists no longer needed surgery, so hospitals have been asked to review their lists.
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Sources regularly consulted, with abbreviations used in text: Népszabadság (N); Magyar Hírlap (MH); Világgazdaság (VG); Napi Gazdaság (NG); Magyar Nemzet (MN); Népszava (Nsz); Kossuth Rádió news (KR); nightly TV news (TV).
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