Big Overseas Salaries Leaves Croatia With Anaesthetist Shortage

Croatia is in urgent need of anaesthetists, with many specialists leaving to work abroad for better pay, reports daily Slobodna Dalmacija…

According to the report, there is a shortage of between 150-200 anaesthetists in Croatian hospitals. The largest shortage is being currently felt at hospitals in the capital Zagreb, Split, Rijeka and Osijek. There are currently around 650 anaesthetists in Croatia, which is not nearly enough to service current needs. Split and Rijeka hospitals are currently in the worst position, and with the salary gap between Croatia and Europe the way it is, then the problem may just get worse.

“We are lacking at least another 8-10 staff. We had enough but we lost four who left to work overseas, for the more or less well-known reason,” Dr. Željko Župan from Rijeka told Slobodna Dalmacija, adding that a large number of anaesthetists in Croatia have left to work in Austria, Sweden and the USA.

“The Salary of an anaesthetist in Europe is much better than in Croatia for a much smaller volume of work. In Denmark, an  anaesthetists salary is greater than 10,000 euros, and the same in the Benelux countries, Switzerland and France, while in Germany and Austria it ranges from 5 to 10 thousand euros, depending on the hospital. Therefore Croatian anaesthetists, who are highly respected in Europe, leave and work abroad,” Župan said.