In Motol, a National Oncology Center opened for nearly five billion crowns

Prague – The National Oncology Center was opened today at the Motol and Homolka Teaching Hospitals for 4.96 billion crowns, with most of the costs funded by European Union grants through the National Recovery Plan. The hospital spokesperson Martina Dostálová told ČTK that the facility has gradually been opening to patients since around mid-August, and some will start operations in October. With all facilities fully operational, the capacity for oncology care in the hospital will increase by 40 percent.

"The total costs for building the center reached nearly five billion crowns, making it one of the most significant investments in Czech healthcare in recent years. The specific outcome will be a faster pathway from suspicion of cancer to correct diagnosis and treatment, as well as care corresponding to the highest European standards," said Minister of Health Adam Vojtěch (for ANO).

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) stated that cancer is currently the second most common cause of death but is likely to become the most common by 2030. "The situation of Czech oncology is not entirely rosy. For pancreatic cancer, we are the third worst in the world in terms of mortality," Babiš said. Similarly, according to him, the Czech Republic is doing poorly in the frequency of kidney cancer, colorectal cancer, and leukemia.

He recalled that from 2021 to 2027, 108 healthcare facilities received support from European funds. According to Monika Ladmanová, head of the European Commission representation in the Czech Republic, 32 billion crowns have gone into healthcare from EU funds over the last ten years. Additional funds have gone into education and cybersecurity. "The money I negotiated was supposed to end up in the most modern oncology hospital in Vinohrady. That location was not chosen because someone wanted it here," added the Prime Minister.

During the construction period, the hospital's management changed due to a corruption scandal. Criminal investigators claim that former hospital head Miloslav Ludvík and his deputy Pavel Budinský accepted bribes from various contractors providing not only construction contracts but also cleaning services and craft work. Vojtěch told ČTK that there are no signals that the criminal case would impact the reimbursement of grants that have so far been paid from the state budget.

The Czech Republic requested reimbursement of the last portion of funds from the National Recovery Plan at the end of August. Since 2021, the program has utilized nearly 215 billion crowns, with the last portion being 23.6 billion.

Vojtěch noted that at the beginning of the year, he did not believe it was possible to meet the opening deadline. "We managed to stabilize the project, shorten the delay by five months, and avert the threat of losing grant funds amounting to more than four billion crowns," said hospital director Petr Polouček. The Ministry of Health grant was 777.4 million crowns, with the remainder covered by the hospital from its own resources.

Former director of FN Motol Miloslav Ludvík wrote on social media X on Tuesday that when he left his position, the delay in work was two months. "When I finished, the delay was two months, no one appealed in the competition, so the tight deadline of 36 months including obtaining the building permit was met for the opening," he stated. No indictment has yet been filed in the case.

The new center was created by renovating the existing building and adding a modern extension. The result is an integrated healthcare complex with a central atrium, enclosed galleries, and connected facilities. It houses imaging method workplaces with modern technological equipment including MRI, CT, mammography, screening facilities, and an endoscopy center.

A week before the ceremonial opening, the façade of the new center caught fire, requiring the evacuation of 18 patients. The damage was estimated at about 30 million crowns, but according to the hospital, it has no impact on operations.

According to the 2021 annual report, Motol Teaching Hospital has over 2,200 beds and 6,700 employees. Last year, nearly 80,000 people were hospitalized there. Homolka Hospital has nearly 400 beds and over 1,700 employees. The year before last, according to the annual report, more than 19,000 people were hospitalized.