BRATISLAVA, November 22, (WEBNOVINY) — On Tuesday, the Parliamentary Health Care Committee held a session to discuss the ongoing protest of hospital doctors. Opposition deputies are worried that if more than 2,000 doctors do not withdraw their resignation notices, provision of health care in Slovakia may be jeopardized. “Innocent people will die, I do not want to exaggerate, but we have to speak the truth as it is,” stated Stefan Zelnik (SNS). The opposition deputy was referring to the situation in Zilina County, where as of December, patients are to be treated only in two hospitals, in Martin and Ruzomberok. The health minister is expected to discuss the situation in the county with the self-government’s representatives on Tuesday afternoon.
Ex-health minister Richard Rasi (SMER-SD) pointed out potential problems in providing planned and in particular emergency health care, too. He is asking the minister to present a logistics plan for patients if doctors actually leave hospitals as of December. “Plan B needs to be prepared,” added Viliam Novotny (SDKU-DS). Health Minister Ivan Uhliarik (KDH) replied by saying that the crisis team is in session, holding talks with directors of hospitals, the national emergency center and emergency medical care units. According to the minister, a crisis plan should be presented at the beginning of next week, while the committee is to debate next Tuesday.
The minister informed the committee members that negotiations with unionists continue. He repeated that he offered to increase doctors’ monthly salaries by EUR 300, which he considers to be the maximum and fair offer. While deputies for the governing coalition advocated the increase, the opposition pointed out that hospitals already do not pay payroll levies for their employees. Zelnik added that such pay raise is not included in the draft state budget and if it is approved, hospitals will not have resources to increase doctors’ wages and their debts will widen.
More than 2,000 doctors working in state-run hospitals are still resolved to leave their jobs as of December 1. The talks on Monday night lasting more than six hours between representatives of medical trade unions and Health Minister Ivan Uhliarik (KDH) were fruitless. Head of the Medical Trade Unions Association (LOZ) Marian Kollar remarked after the meeting that no agreement was attained on any of the doctors’ four main requirements.
Health Minister Ivan Uhliarik, however, was not so skeptical. He said that doctors had accepted the current halt of hospitals‘ transformation or solutions to the abidance by the Labor Code and provision of additional funds for the sector. “We have more or less agreed upon these points but no accord was achieved in the matter of wages,” Uhliarik observed. Trade unionists rejected these conclusions. They maintain no agreement was achieved. Doctors reportedly demand an average increase by EUR 800. The next round of talks is to be held on Wednesday in the presence of Prime Minister Iveta Radicova.
As of late September, 2,411 hospital doctors filed resignation notices in 34 hospitals all over Slovakia. Some 400 have already withdrawn them. Close to 7,500 doctors work in the country’s hospitals. The Medical Trade Unions Association has four demands on the government: to observe the Labor Code, change the system of health care funding, stop transformation of hospitals to joint-stock companies, and increase wages of health care employees. The doctors perceive all their requirements as a complex and demand fulfillment of them all.
SITA