Billions of Czech crowns were promised to two of Brno’s main hospitals by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) on his visit to Brno on Wednesday. University Hospital in Bohunice needs a new maternity hospital, and St. Anne’s University Hospital needs money to pay off outstanding debts. Photo: Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and Deputy Prime Minister Alena Schillerová visiting one of the new learning centers of Masaryk University in Brno January 15, 2020. vlada.cz.
Brno, Jan 18 (BD) – Delivering 6,000 babies per year, the University’s maternity hospital is one of the biggest in the country. The problem is that it operates in two buildings around seven kilometers apart, and one of them, the facility at Obilní trh, is not in a suitable condition. Uniting both maternity hospitals in one new building in Bohunice will cost CZK 1.9 billion crowns, according to Babiš’s Twitter. He also announced plans to invest in a new emergency room for CZK 400 million, reconstruction of the hospital’s pharmacy for CZK 164 million, and expansion of the transplant unit for CZK 50 million.
“We will submit the proposal to the government on February 3rd. After they give their final approval to the investment, it will be registered, a project will be prepared and there will be a tender for a construction company. If all goes well, construction should commence in 2021,” Health Minister Adam Vojtěch (ANO) told aktuálně.cz. Approximately 30 percent of the cost should be covered by the hospital, and the rest will be financed by the state.
The new head of the hospital, Jaroslav Štěrba, told Aktuálně about the plans for the new building: “The new maternity hospital will cover everything we already do today. With 6,000 births a year, we are the biggest maternity hospital in the area. But there also has to be high quality care for the baby after delivery and a pavilion for mothers with children.”
Another hospital in need of financial aid is St. Anne’s University Hospital. Right now the hospital’s outstanding debt obligations are around CZK 1.6 billion. The debt is an accumulation of deficits from previous years. The hospital should receive CZK 1.3 billion in the form of a loan from the state with lower interest and a 10-year maturity. Apart from that, the hospital’s director Vlastimil Vajdák plans on investing CZK 100 million into a new emergency room.
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