There are four of them, located in mountainous areas and caring for children suffering from, for example, respiratory problems.

Now the children’s sanatorium in Krkonoše is threatened with closure after operating for several decades. Authorities required them to re-register.

According to Martina Svatoňová, spokesperson for the Regional Office of the Hradec Králové Region, which owns the facility, there are clear reasons for this. “In accordance with statutory regulations, we can no longer continue like this,” he confirmed the re-registration.

This refers to the current version of the Health Services Law. This has been in effect since 2012 and places higher demands on facility operations in terms of equipment and personnel. He didn’t know the term “children’s sanatorium” at all.

“The law has regulated it in such a way that there must be a pediatrician in the facility. However, currently there are no doctors and the way it works is that medical personnel are there and if something happens the doctor will come there. Unfortunately, the new law does not allow this,” explains Svatoňová.

Until now the sanatorium operated according to the old law, its management appealed the decision. “If I approved the house in 1920 and did not carry out reconstruction, then the house could still be used. Likewise with registration. It was legal under the old law, but someone decided that we needed to re-register. I don’t understand the reason at all,” Roman Vícha, director of one of the affected facilities, told Seznam Zprávám.

According to the regional spokesperson, the decision of the Ministry of Health cannot be expected earlier than in a quarter of a year. Therefore, until now no conclusions can be drawn. “We need the ministry’s opinion on how to organize sanatoriums so that pediatricians do not have to be present 24 hours a day. Without it, we would not have gone further,” stressed Svatoňová.

The Ministry of Health handles the recall of sanatoriums. However, the department’s spokesperson Ondřej Jakob told Seznam Zprávám that no institution should remain in the healthcare system, which is “a continuation of a previously valid system enshrined in legal regulations that have long been invalid”.

“This process has fixed rules that must not be violated in any way in order to maintain the quality of health services and patient safety,” he stressed.

The Hradec Králové region wants to keep the sanatorium, which was also confirmed by Governor Martin Červíček (ODS).

“This is an incredible story for us. The pediatrician prescribed a healing stay and the insurance company covered it. We have 70 percent bed capacity in our rehabilitation center and children come to us from all over the Czech Republic,” he told Seznam Zprávám, adding that he considered the situation absurd.

They said they had been appealing to the ministry for more than two years to change the regulations to allow the continued operation of sanatoriums. But that still hasn’t happened, and he is therefore ready to start further negotiations.

Director Vícha sees the main problem as the disappearance of children’s sanatoriums from the Health Services Act. “I don’t know why it happened, but there was a dog buried there.” According to him, the current law forces facilities to be converted into care institutions, which, among other things, requires more staff. This is already quite a problem nowadays due to the lack of doctors.

Health centers or spas are a particular alternative to sanatoriums, but their operating costs are much higher. In addition, according to Víchy, the facility uses similar methods, but the children inside cannot enjoy the mountain air.

“We did everything that is done in a sanatorium. The only difference is the atmosphere. “Climate therapy works from a height of 800 meters, which we cover and we don’t have to do anything artificial to the children like in hospitals,” said the director.

He gave an example, interest in sanatoriums is still large and the facilities are often filled to capacity. Data provided by the Health Insurance Company of the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic also confirms that demand is not decreasing. The agency reimburses about 250 children a year for overnight stays and, according to spokeswoman Jana Schillerová, plans to continue paying for overnight stays.

People also find sanatoriums useful. A petition was even created to save them. “We believe that closing children’s sanatoriums will have serious consequences for the health of our children, including limiting access to necessary health services and reducing quality of life,” said the document, which was supported by more than 1,800 people in July. 25.

If the sanatorium closes, this will free up space in the building where the facility is currently located. So the question arises, how to deal with buildings that are located in very favorable locations.

“At the moment, the region does not have a plan on how to deal with the sanatorium property, because we are sure that the existence of the sanatorium will be maintained,” said Governor Červíček. They said they did not consider the possibility that the site would be given to developers.

Even Vícha didn’t have such worries. “It’s a profitable place, so there might be interest there. But so far I have not recorded anyone coming there and asking when it will be sold.” He also believes that the sanatorium’s activities will not stop.