September 23, 2022 - It is no secret that public health in Croatia can be painfully slow and inefficient. And while most people experience that inefficiency in waiting times for routine check-ups, the number of people whose lives depend on it is heart-breaking. It ranges from bloodwork crucial for cancer diagnoses and life-saving medicine to potentially life-changing tests that could be done using an old machine. Nothing fancy, no super-advanced technology, just a machine that has been there for ages. Then it broke down. One year ago. Epilepsy patients are left waiting for a potentially life-changing diagnosis.

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders with a wide range of symptoms. It causes seizures of varying intensity, duration and frequency. While some people can carry on with their daily lives with minor interruptions, for some, it is debilitating. The cortical stimulator machine is used for detecting which parts of the brain are causing epileptic seizures and to see if it is possible to operate on those parts and potentially set the patients free of this life-altering condition. Unfortunately, if sensitive parts of the brain are affected, where surgery could interfere with vital functions, it might not be the solution, but often enough, it could prove helpful. At the very least, the test might set the patients on the right course for treatment or management of the condition. KBC Zagreb had one, and then it broke down in September 2021. 

As RTL reported in April 2022, when the old machine broke down, the hospital showed a willingness to get a new one but somehow "got stuck". In the meantime, the patients have been on hold; their epileptic seizures keep coming one after the other, and the medical staff can't even give an approximate date on the phone when they can expect an appointment. Until the device is fixed, there will be no diagnoses.

Back then, it was also stated that there were 19 patients on the waiting list for diagnostics using the device, and these patients, according to prim. Dr Novak, in the meantime, also reported for outpatient neurological check-ups at the Centre for Epilepsy.

About 40 thousand people have epilepsy in Croatia. The disease can be controlled in most cases. Still, for about 25 per cent of patients, medicine is not enough, and doctors sometimes decide to remove the parts responsible for epileptic seizures surgically.

One of such patients took to Reddit to plead for the help of the media in sharing his story, desperate that one year later, nothing has changed and that the waiting list of 19 people has not moved. Having waited for over 18 months, he suspects the list might even be longer by now. He experiences partial epileptic seizures daily, medicine alone does not help, and the only hope is the option of surgery, which can only be determined by tests on the machine in question. 

And here is where the absurdity lies. Apparently, "KBC Zagreb themselves stated that the funds are available, the father of a patient offered to collect money through donations, and one even allegedly offered to buy a new machine and donate it to KBC, to which he was told that it could not be done that way". The patients are left wondering and guessing why the delay is happening. Was it Covid setting it all back, maybe private interest that is not being met, something else? Who knows. 

The very least we can do is talk about it, share the desperate calls for help, ask those in charge to acknowledge the problem, and maybe even start working on it. Wouldn't that be a wonder?

If you are one of the patients, their family or friends and would like to share your story; or are in a position to help, advise or direct the patients who still need help, please contact us.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated Lifestyle section.

October the 15th, 2021 - The director of the Croatian Institute of Public Health, Krunoslav Capak, has stated that he hopes we're now experiencing the very peak of the fourth wave and that we'll soon see the infection rate begin to drop again.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Krunoslav Capak recently spoke about the worrying large number of infections in neighbouring Serbia, but also about the big jump the same sense here in Croatia, as well as the third dose of the vaccine. Here in Croatia, after five months, we have seen quite a dramatic jump in the infection rate. Krunoslav Capak said that if you were to ask him personally, that he doesn't expect these figures to go over 2000.

"But if you look at the weekly averages - we're in stagnant growth. The first three days of this week had fewer cases than the first three days of last week. I'd dare to say and we hope that this is the peak of the fourth wave and that the numbers will now come back down again,'' he said.

Krunoslav Capak also said that he thinks that we're now right in the very peak of the fourth wave, although cooler, less stable weather is coming and that can pose a danger for the epidemiological situation, much like it did last year when things were at their very worst.

"We always need to remember that we have a large number of people who still aren't vaccinated, people who are unwell or overweight... That said, we also have a population that is already used to all of this, that more or less maintains social distance, doesn't attend gatherings, doesn't spend much time in closed spaces, so we're hoping that we might see the peak and that in a short time, meaning the second half of October, the numbers will start to fall,'' Krunoslav Capak said.

"If the virus is allowed a lot of space, it can spread"

He also commented on the situation in neighbouring Serbia, which has an average of more than 6,500 infected people per day.

"Despite the level of vaccination there, which is very similar to ours in Croatia, if the virus is allowed a lot of space to spread, it will do precisely that,'' he said.

Krunoslav Capak also said that high numbers for the winter are possible in Croatia, too.

"We hope that this won't happen, because we're at another level of vaccination, we have different epidemiological measures and the quality of compliance with these measures is different," he said.

A booster dose of the coronavirus vaccine

He also commented on the recommendations for the third, so-called coronavirus booster dose.

He talked about whether these booster vaccinations will be organised in hospitals and in nursing homes like last winter or whether it will take place at mass vaccination points.

"In our document, we recommended that vaccinations be organised for inpatient social care institutions and in the healthcare system, as was the case with the first set of vaccinations, while for all other categories, in consultation with a doctor, we can of course organise vaccinations at mass vaccination points," said Capak for RTL.

The prolongation of the Croatian covid certificates after a booster or third dose of the vaccine

Capak also said that they haven't yet determined the dates when they will start with the third dose, but that it will happen very soon.

When asked if anyone could come to the vaccination point on their own and say they live with an immunocompromised person and want to be vaccinated with the third dose, Capak replied: “The direct answer to your question is that yes, they'll be able to do that. We always have doctors present at these mass vaccination sites. Anyone can get vaccinated in consultation with a doctor.''

He also answered whether the third dose prolongs the duration of Croatian covid certificates.

“Given the fact that the EMA has now approved it, we're going to introduce the possibility for people to be vaccinated like this. Work is underway to deal with it all in terms of IT and to create business rules for issuing covid certificates. According to us, we're ready to extend people's covid certificates after that booster or third dose for another year,'' he concluded.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to check out our dedicated section and select your preferred language.