Doctors’ strike averted as rallies in support of public healthcare held

Rallies were held in nine Slovenian cities on 10 January in support of the preservation of public healthcare amidst a shortage of general practitioners and general underfunding and understaffing, but the country managed to avert even more severe disruption as doctors called off a strike that would have shut down most non-essential services for 24 hours.

The rallies were held because more than 130,000 people, over five percent of the country's population, do not have a named general practitioner. GPs act as gatekeepers for secondary care and their shortage has led to overcrowded...