Shortcomings of Rehabilitation Care
Imagine your life changing overnight. After an unexpected illness or accident you end up in hospital, where doctors do everything to save your life. However, after acute care you often face the situation of being left on your own on the road to further recovery. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case in Hungary but a systemic problem that severely affects thousands of patients.
Acute care
The first 4–5 days are critical for saving a life. At this stage, hospitals and clinics focus on stabilization and eliminating life-threatening conditions. This is the phase when the Hungarian healthcare system shows its best face: professional doctors and nurses work to help you survive the critical period. But what happens afterwards?
A systemic shortcoming: you are left on your own
When you leave the hospital, you usually depart with a single document: the discharge summary. Your GP prescribes the necessary medications based on this, and officially the active phase of your care is closed with that.
But think about it: if you had a stroke and your hand won't move, or if after surgery you cannot walk properly yet, how can this be sufficient?
Rehabilitation: a neglected need
The real problem starts here.
Full recovery often requires months of rehabilitation treatment. This is not a luxury but a basic necessity to regain your previous quality of life, or at least approach it.
Rehabilitation could help restore your mobility, speed up wound healing, improve your ability to self-care, and treat movement disorders after a stroke.
Consequences of the lack of information
Late "awakening"
Most patients only realize weeks, often months later, that their condition is not improving adequately.
This is when individual research begins: browsing the internet, asking acquaintances, searching for alternative solutions.
But by then it may already be too late, because timing is one of the key factors for successful rehabilitation.
What do you lose by delaying?
Starting rehabilitation in time significantly increases the chance of full recovery.
Every wasted week moves you further away from the possibility of complete healing.
A late start reduces the chance of full recovery and makes rehabilitation take longer. Greater effort is required to achieve improvement, and unfortunately permanent damage may develop.
What would an ideal system look like?
Immediate information
Already during your hospital stay you should receive detailed information about the need for rehabilitation, the expected process, possible outcomes, and the available providers.
This information would be vital for your further recovery.
A structured rehabilitation plan
The healthcare system should provide a personalized rehabilitation plan, direct contact with rehabilitation providers, continuous monitoring, and regular condition assessments.
These services would be fundamentally necessary for successful recovery.
The current situation
Problems with resource allocation
One of the most painful aspects of the situation in Hungary is the improper allocation of resources. While billions are spent on stadiums, tourist railways, or we buy an airport for astronomical sums, basic healthcare services—especially rehabilitation care—show severe shortcomings.
This is not only a professional issue but a moral one as well.
Lack of rehabilitation capacity
The lack of a proper rehabilitation system can be attributed to several factors.
Insufficient funding in the health sector, a shortage of specialists in the rehabilitation field, and infrastructural deficiencies all contribute to the problem.
Existing institutions also have long waiting lists that patients must face.
What can you do?
Be proactive!
If you need healthcare, don’t wait for the system. It is important to ask for detailed information already during your hospital stay and inquire about rehabilitation options.
It is worth consulting rehabilitation professionals and even joining peer support communities.
Know your rights!
Every patient has the right to full information, appropriate healthcare, and access to rehabilitation services.
Accessing your medical records is also a basic right that you should exercise.
Consult professionals!
Whether you manage to get into a publicly funded rehabilitation center or not, seek out a physiotherapist, movement therapist, medical fitness professional, and a physical therapist! Free rehabilitation services are limited, and they are almost certainly not enough for your full recovery.
You don’t need to see these professionals every day; once every few weeks may suffice, but you will need their help for months, sometimes years.
The specialist will assess your condition and create a plan tailored to you. They will tell you and teach you which exercises to do at home to improve the problem. They will specify how many repetitions are needed and how many times a day you should do them at minimum (you can usually do more). A few weeks later you should meet again so that, depending on the changes, you can receive new, different, more intensive exercises.
But you have to do these exercises, because without them the condition of muscles, tendons, joints, and organs will not change. In other words, recovery largely depends on you.
The role of the physical therapist is similar. The healing processes can be stimulated and supported with home physiotherapy devices. Ask for advice, obtain such a device and the physical therapist can help you how and how much to use it.
Summary: change is needed
Acute care in the Hungarian healthcare system is still at an acceptable standard, but rehabilitation services require systemic development.
Change requires reallocating resources, expanding rehabilitation capacities, and significantly improving information flow. Stronger protection of patients' interests is also indispensable.
Remember: rehabilitation is not a luxury but a fundamental right. Restoring your quality of life is at least as important as saving your life.
Because of the system's shortcomings, you currently have to act in your own interest and seize every opportunity for full recovery.
Change will only happen if we, the citizens, raise our voices and demand comprehensive development of the healthcare system, including the establishment of a functioning rehabilitation system.
Health and quality of life cannot be secondary considerations in an advanced society. Your voice and active participation are also necessary for this change to truly occur.
