The Minister of Health, Adam Vojtěch, announced in a Sunday debate on Czech Television plans to reorganize the network of maternity wards and expand post-natal care capacity in response to demographic changes. According to a recent eGovernment Benchmark study, the Czech Republic has significantly improved its ranking in the evaluation of digital public services in the EU, moving up to ninth place among European countries. Meanwhile, discussions continue regarding the impact of recent interest rate increases by the Czech National Bank (CNB) and the European Central Bank (ECB) on the domestic economy.

Due to the low birth rate, the network of maternity wards in the Czech Republic will be adjusted. According to expert recommendations, maternity wards and facilities with more than 600 births per year should remain. Furthermore, approximately 9,500 additional beds for post-natal care are expected to be added by the middle of the next decade, with some of them potentially created by converting existing acute care beds. This was stated by the Minister of Health, Adam Vojtěch, in a Sunday debate on Czech Television.

The Czech Republic has improved its ranking in the evaluation of digital public services in the European Union. It has moved from 14th place last year to ninth place among European countries. With a score of 87 out of 100, it is also above the EU average. The overall score includes services for both domestic and cross-border users, while the partial score for services for citizens of the Czech Republic reaches 92 points. Cross-border services for citizens, with a score of 83 percent, are among the areas with the most significant year-on-year improvement. This is according to a regular study by the eGovernment Benchmark, published by the Digital and Information Agency.

The domestic economy continues to adjust to the recent shift in monetary policy. Following the Czech National Bank's (CNB) increase of the key interest rate to 3.75 percent on Thursday, and the previous increase in interest rates by the European Central Bank (ECB), mortgage loans and corporate financing in the Czech Republic remain noticeably more expensive than at the beginning of the year. Analysts expect that the future direction of interest rates will depend on the development of inflation in the services sector and the stability of the Czech crown, which has been supported in recent weeks by a ceasefire between the United States and Iran.

gnews.cz - GH

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