Czech Republic creates national network of cardiovascular centres

2009-12-23

The Czech Ministry of Health has announced the establishment of a new cardiovascular care system in the country, which will be based on a network of national healthcare centres. The centres will be providing treatment for complicated and expensive cases in the area of cardiac surgery, interventional cardiology and heart transplantation. The list of the centres will be published by the Ministry by the end of this year.
The concentration of cardiovascular care within specialised centres is a rational step that can also be observed in other EU Member States, says Czech Health Minister Dana Juraskova. The centres will play a role of regional coordinators and will carry out research in the cardiovascular field, applying its results during treatment.
The centres have been selected based on various criteria, including their technical equipment and qualifications of the hired personnel. The Ministry of Health will support the necessary modernisation of the centres, granting them access to resources from the EU’s Integrated Operational Programme, which is available to the country until 2013. Deputy health Minister Marek Snajdr said that CZK1.4bn (€53.4m) within the Programme will be allocated for the development of all 17 hospitals that will create the network.
Cardiovascular diseases are the most frequent cause of deaths in the Czech Republic, with over 50,000 people dying every year – a number that constitutes 50% of all deaths in the country.