ZAGREB, 11 May 2022 - The Croatian Medical Chamber (HLK) said on Wednesday the right to conscientious objection was guaranteed by international and national legal documents and regulations, rejecting unsubstantiated attacks on that medical institute and opposing its abolishment.

The HLK expressed regret and sympathy for the difficult situation Mirela Čavajda and her family have found themselves in, but noted that it did not consider the case to be about conscientious objection.

Čavajda is a 39-year-old who has requested a pregnancy termination because the fetus has been diagnosed with massive brain cancer six months into her pregnancy. She recently told the Index web portal that all hospitals in Zagreb she contacted had refused to do a termination of pregnancy despite the fact that doctors told her that the tumour was so big the child most likely would not live long, and even if it did, it would never have a normal life.

Her complaint against the hospitals' decision is to be discussed by a second-instance commission at the KBC Zagreb Hospital, whose expert commission, formed last week at the request of Health Minister Vili Beroš, was of the view that the child has a chance to live and that neurosurgical treatment is possible if the delivery goes well.

The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, legally binding on all members, guarantees every individual the right to conscientious objection, in line with national legislation, the HLK said, recalling that that right is also guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

In Croatian legislation, the right to freedom of conscience is regulated by the Constitution, while the right to conscientious objection for physicians is regulated by the Medical Profession Act and the Code of Medical Ethics, the HLK says, describing as unacceptable recent blanket criticisms of gynecologists in the media and public.

It expressed concern over Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević's statement that it was unacceptable that all medical staff at Sveti Duh Hospital (founded by the city of Zagreb) are conscientious objectors, with HLK president Krešimir Luetić claiming Tomašević was exerting pressure on doctors.

The HLK stresses that the right to conscientious objection was often depicted  in public as an obstacle to exercising the legal right to abortion.

According to HLK's data, the service of pregnancy termination is available on request in 28 medical institutions in Croatia.

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ZAGREB, 28 Nov, 2021 - The head of the Croatian Medical Chamber (HLK) said on Sunday that he was surprised that participants in protests against COVID certificates included doctors, confirming the HLK had launched proceedings against doctors making claims not based on science at those protests, thus misleading the public.

"Certain steps have been taken against six doctors... sanctions range from a warning and a reprimand to the revocation of the licence," Krešimir Luetić said in an interview with the Sunday issue of the Novi List daily.

Asked if such doctors should have their licences revoked, Luetić said the HLK's Ethics Board was an independent body that would make its decision.

Doctors embittered by protests against COVID-19 certificate mandate

Asked about his view of the protests against epidemiological restrictions, vaccination and testing, Luetić said that he shared his fellow doctors' resentment about the protests.

He said that after the protest held in Zagreb last weekend, he was contacted by dozens of colleagues who were embittered as the event was in direct violation of epidemiological restrictions but also because of the messages that could be heard at the rally.

95% of doctors vaccinated

Asked about the fact that among the protesters there were also doctors and that not all protesters were uneducated people, Luetić said that he was shocked by the fact that any intellectual, particularly a doctor, would make comments that were not based on science, medical profession and statistics.

He noted, however, that around 95% of doctors had been vaccinated against coronavirus, thus showing their view of the pandemic and vaccination.

Speaking of vaccination, Luetić recalled that the HLK had already taken the position that vaccination should be mandatory in the health system.

As for the mandatory vaccination of the general population, which Austria has already opted for and some other European countries are considering, Luetić said that it would be a political decision.

"As a doctor and from the point of view of the medical sector, I think such a decision would definitely make the situation in the health system easier, and reduce the number of seriously ill people and fatalities," he said.

If you compare countries like Croatia, Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands, you see that they have roughly the same number of daily infections per million inhabitants, however, compared to Croatia, those three countries have three times fewer hospitalisations and up to five times fewer fatalities, Luetić stressed.

"That is a clear indicator of how important vaccination is, and as to whether our citizens understand that, I think the answer is both yes and no," he said.

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ZAGREB, 7 Nov 2021 - Croatia has a shortage of 207 family doctors and 104 gynecologists, the Croatian Chamber of Physicians (HLK) said earlier this week, adding that it is necessary to advertise residencies to increase the number of doctors in primary healthcare.

Amendments to the Healthcare Act should ensure better working conditions in primary healthcare as they are the main reason why young doctors are leaving Croatia, the HLK said after a meeting with representatives of the Health Ministry and the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZZO), which focused on the situation and future solutions in family medicine and gynecology.

Primary healthcare spends only a small portion of the HZZO budget and even a minor additional investment in this area of healthcare would greatly benefit both citizens and the health system, they said.

Besides the shortage, it is worrying that family doctors are 52 years old on average and 33% are over 60, including 184 over 65 who are eligible for retirement, the HLK said.

The situation is equally bad with primary healthcare gynecologists as there is a shortage of 31% or 104 doctors. One gynecologist has 5,500 patients on average, which means that at least 250,000 women don't have one in primary healthcare, and these doctors are 54 years old on average, the HLK said, adding that the situation is worst in Brod-Posavina, Bjelovar-Bilogora, and Lika-Senj counties.

Increasing the number of doctors would reduce the average number of patients per doctor and it is also necessary to relieve teams of administrative duties in order to improve quality and efficiency, HLK representatives said at the meeting.

Lack of investment in primary healthcare, which is expected to provide for 80% of citizens' health needs so as to relieve the more expensive hospital system, has resulted in less available health services and poorer treatment outcomes. However, family and general medicine doctors had more contact with patients during the pandemic, according to the HZZO's 2020 report.

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ZAGREB, November 15, 2020 - A delegation of the Croatian Medical Chamber (HLK) on Sunday lit candles at a memorial at the Vukovar National Memorial Hospital in recognition of the hard work and great sacrifice of Vukovar doctors during the aggression on Vukovar in 1991.

"Like all these years, the Croatian Medical Chamber pays tribute to Vukovar's sacrifice and to victims of the Homeland War all over Croatia and expresses its thanks to colleagues who worked at the Vukovar hospital for three months in 1991 in inhumane conditions, offering medical help to all those who needed it," HLK president Kresimir Luetic said.

He said that HLK members had come to the Vukovar hospital a few days before November 18 and not on that day due to the epidemiological situation as they wanted to send a message to everyone else to listen to epidemiologists and not to gather in large numbers in Vukovar on November 18.

Luetic said that the sacrifice of Vukovar in the Homeland War can also be honoured on other days and in other places. According to him, Vukovar should not become a new COVID-19 hotspot following November 18 if epidemiological measures are adhered to.

Head of Vukovar hospital, Vesna Bosanac, also does not expect Vukovar to become a new coronavirus hotspot after November 18.

It is important that everyone who comes to Vukovar really adheres to the measures, that they wear masks and listen to the COVID-19 response team, and that there are no gatherings, Bosanac said.

The HLK delegation also visited the Homeland War Victims Memorial Cemetery, where it laid a wreath and lit candles.