BRATISLAVA, November 29, (SITA) — Health care in Slovakia will be provided even after December 1, stated Health Minister Ivan Uhliarik (KDH) after Tuesday’s meeting of the Parliamentary Health Care Committee. “This is the very reason why a state of emergency has been declared in some riskier districts,” the minister said. The government declared a state of emergency in thirteen districts which applies to all hospitals that are located in their territories. Uhliarik at the same time informed that doctors continue to withdraw their resignation notices. According to latest information, there are now 1,900 doctors whose notice period ends tomorrow. For example, the situation in the Kosice University Hospital is said to have improved.
Uhliarik warned doctors that they have time to withdraw their notices only until Wednesday. If the government within the state of emergency does not evaluate it still needs outgoing doctors, their notices will become valid and they will have to leave hospitals. According to estimates, within those who plan to leave, Slovakia cannot let go 500 specialists for now. It is quite possible that health care providers will not need them any longer as the minister confirmed again that the government is considering canceling and merging departments as well as shutting down whole hospitals. This means that not only doctors would lose their jobs but also other employees, for example nurses. “This is probably not the systemic change which trade unionists wanted,” Uhliarik said. He did not want to specify in how many hospitals and when the changes should occur.
Uhliarik talked to his Czech and Ukrainian counterpart about help for Slovakia. Details of their aid are being discussed. His department also addressed personnel agencies and is preparing recruitment of doctors abroad. “However, first of all I want to come to an agreement with our doctors,” the minister stated.
After the meeting of the parliamentary committee, former Health Minister Richard Rasi (SMER-SD) drew attention to the fact that according to his information, the situation is also serious in some hospitals that are not under the state of emergency declared by the government, for example in Nitra and Levice. He appealed to the government and trade unionists to start talking again. He opines that if the government guaranteed from the very beginning cancellation of hospital transformation to joint-stock companies and ban on profit of health insurers, it could have agreed a compromise even with a lower volume of resources.
The committee agreed that the state of emergency is only a temporary solution that can last for ninety days at most. “The situation is being resolved, do not frighten citizens, it is time we started negotiating again,” the minister said to members of the committee. However, Viliam Novotny (SDKU-DS) said that negotiations will be held with doctors, not chief of Medical Trade Unions Association Marian Kollar. He said that talks with him were counterproductive and pointless. The prime minister should talk to doctors from hospitals to which the declaration of the state of emergency applies on Tuesday at 4 pm.
At its extraordinary meeting on Monday night, the Cabinet of Iveta Radicova decided to declare a state of emergency in fifteen hospitals when an overwhelming majority of protesting hospital doctors rejected the offer of a pay rise of 300 euros and refused to withdraw their notices that run out at the end of the month. Prime Minister Radicova assured the citizens of Slovakia at the following news conference that the Cabinet’s decision and the subsequent measures will secure provision of all necessary health care. The declared state of emergency enables to order doctors to perform their work duty in order to secure health care and includes the right to ban a strike to some employees. The state of emergency is to be declared as of Tuesday and will not apply to the whole territory of Slovakia but only to thirteen districts and fifteen health care providers. The prime minister specified that the measure will affect university hospitals in Bratislava and Kosice, teaching hospitals in Trnava, Trencin, Zilina, Presov, Banska Bystrica children’s faculty hospitals in Bratislava and Kosice and hospitals in Bojnice, Trstena, Dolny Kubin, Cadca, Liptovsky Mikulas and in Poprad.
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 government offers trade unionists a pay rise of 300 euros but they want 707 euros. Finance Minister Ivan Miklos expressed his opinion on the requirement of doctors to increase salaries. “We are living in tough times while the immediate future will certainly not be easier. I consider the pay rise we have carried out the highest possible in this situation. As an illustration I want to say that during good times in 2007 when the Slovak economy posted record-breaking growth, when we had a 10.4-percent growth of the Slovak economy, when the Cabinet had a huge increase in public revenue, doctors’ salaries went up by 17 percent. A 300-euro pay rise a month represents growth by 30 percent of basic salaries and by 20 percent of gross income. That is significantly a higher increase than in 2007. If this is not enough for somebody, people should make their opinion,” Miklos said.
SITA