Czech doctors now earn an average of 84,000 crowns per month

Czech doctors now make an average of 84,000 crowns per month, while nurses are now making an average of 43,000 crowns monthly, according to 2019 data from the Institute of Health Information and Statistics (ÚZIS) presented by the Czech Ministry of Health during a press conference on Monday.

Over the past five years, salaries for doctors in the Czech Republic have grown 43%, while nurses have seen a 32% increase.

Those salaries are now in line with EU averages for their professions, while average salaries for many other professions in the Czech Republic are well below.

“In recent years, we have witnessed a truly unprecedented growth in healthcare wages,” a Ministry spokesperson told members of the press yesterday.

“Healthcare salaries are clearly the fastest growing of all segments in the economy.”

From 2017 to 2018, salaries for doctors grew 8% year-on-year, while salaries for nurses were up 12%.

According to the Ministry, while salaries for healthcare professionals in the Czech Republic are expected to continue to grow, more expenditure is also needed for the development of the facilities.

“In recent years, almost all the money has gone into wage growth and there is none left for the development of hospitals,” the spokesperson stated.

According to ÚZIS statistics, there are currently about 21,500 doctors employed in intensive care units throughout the Czech Republic, and 45,000 nurses.

Over the past two decades, the Czech Republic is often said to have experienced a “brain drain” of well-trained professionals in the healthcare field (and other industries) who have left the country in pursuit of more competitive salaries in other EU states.

Going forward, however, that may no longer be the case. Currently, the Czech Republic may be the beneficiary of a brain drain in regards to doctors coming from Ukraine and other Central and Eastern European territories.