Budapest to privatise 11 hospitals

Hungary's capital city, Budapest, has drawn up a plan to privatise 11 of the 19 hospitals under its jurisdiction, in an effort to pump new financial life into the cash strapped institutions.

Hungary's 160 hospitals, all owned by municipalities or state universities, are dependent on monthly allowances from the National Health Care Fund Administration, which barely cover their operating expenses.

This has resulted in poorly equipped facilities and a shortage …