A major new hospital building is currently under construction at the Clinical Hospital Centre Zagreb. Total capital investment in Croatia’s largest hospital has reached €639 million to date. The new project is expected to be completed by the end of 2027 and will also include a helipad.
Along with the renovation and completion of Croatia’s largest hospital, the introduction of new therapeutic procedures and devices is also planned, Minister of Health Irena Hrstić said after visiting KBC Zagreb, adding that the procurement of a PET/CT device is also expected by the end of the year.
The Minister of Health said that the completion of the third phase of the renovation of KBC Zagreb is expected by the end of this year, and the new buildings in 2027. Total capital investments in Croatia’s largest hospital to date amount to €639 million.
PET/CT devices and a cyclotron
Along with construction and renovation, the Minister also announced the introduction of new therapeutic procedures, especially for oncology patients and children, with an emphasis on a PET/CT device.
The public procurement procedure has also been carried out at KBC Zagreb as a public healthcare institution, where, if everything goes according to plan, it is expected by the end of the year, also depending on the third phase of the construction of KBC itself and the installation of the new PET/CT device
Irena Hrstić, Minister of Health
Director of KBC Zagreb Fran Borovečki emphasised that the hospital wants to strengthen its treatment options.
As the new PET/CT is coming, I believe that the production of radiopharmaceuticals in Croatia would certainly be worthwhile. We have done some basic calculations and I think it would be good for the cyclotron to be in Croatia, which would serve the public healthcare system. We are ready to host it.
Fran Borovečki
“At this moment, with two PET/CT devices available in the public healthcare system and four available in the private healthcare system, and with the future procurement of a new PET/CT, it is time to think about the need for a cyclotron in the public healthcare system,” the Minister added.
Accompanied by the Director of KBC Zagreb and State Secretaries of the Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets, Tonči Glavinić and Sanja Bošnjak, the Minister of Health also visited the construction site of the new hospital building and garage, which is financed by a loan from the World Bank and from the state budget. The total value of the project is almost €179 million and it is currently the largest investment in healthcare, with the Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets responsible for the project.
The garage will be completed by the end of 2027, and KBC Zagreb will also have a helipad.
When asked by journalists whether there had been fewer procedures due to the renovation process and how everything had affected waiting lists, Borovečki replied that they perform more procedures than in 2019, when they had 1.5 million cases, while now they have 1.75 million, and that they continuously monitor waiting lists.
“I can responsibly say that healthcare was at the highest possible level throughout this entire period, and certainly it was not easy to manage everything in these circumstances. I think everything went quite well,” Borovečki emphasised, adding that after the renovation, the hospital’s capacity will be 300 beds lower because the number of day-hospital beds has increased.
“For all healthcare services that can be provided as day-hospital services, you automatically need a smaller number of healthcare workers than you currently do,” the Minister of Health added.
She emphasised that over the past six years, the number of people employed in healthcare has increased by five to six thousand.
“The organisational problem arises precisely because of these short-term sick leaves, and not because of the absolute number of available healthcare staff. This means that through organisational measures, both current and future, we will have to ensure that we do not experience an acute shortage of staff, as is currently the case during the summer tourist season,” said Hrstić.
Journalists also asked the director whether there would be additional hiring, particularly of cleaners, whose shortage had once again become an issue in recent days. Borovečki replied that they constantly have open recruitment competitions, not only for this category of employees.
“We are working to increase their salaries as much as possible. We have given them the maximum legally permitted salary coefficient, and we are grateful to them for their exceptionally dedicated work,” he said.
