Some 500 medical students and graduate volunteers have applied to help ease the burden on hospital staff treating Covid-19 patients, the deputy head of Hungary’s national hospital manager said on Wednesday.
The National Hospital Directorate-General on Monday issued a call for medical students and volunteers to assist with the country’s response to the third wave of the coronavirus epidemic.
“There is now a greater need than ever for committed helpers to support the work of our doctors and nurses,” the directorate’s appeal said.
Hungary has begun transferring health-care staff to the more overburdened areas, especially the northern region, Péter Takács, deputy director-general of the National Hospital Directorate-General told public news channel M1.
The number of hospitalised Covid patients “has reached its peak” in Győr-Moson-Sopron, Komárom-Esztergom, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg and Nográd counties, he added.
Volunteers applying to help out will be filling in for those who have been transferred to other areas, working primarily at outpatient clinics and vaccination points, Takács said. Doctors, pharmacists and accredited nurses are also encouraged to apply, he said.
The national hospital manager last put out a similar call in the autumn, during the second wave, which attracted more than 1,000 volunteers, he said.
Featured photo illustration by János Vajda/MTI
