If there is no agreement between the government and the Medical Association (LOZ), even acute health care will not be provided from January. This was pointed out by the Association of Hospitals of Slovakia (ANS). He therefore calls on both parties to reach an agreement and compromise so that the situation is resolved without unnecessary delay, not at the end of December.
“If an agreement is not reached in time, from January it may happen that even acute health care will not be properly provided. The alternative that this care would subsequently be covered by ANS hospitals is not possible, because they do not have the capacity or the professional specialization to be able to cover procedures such as severe traumatology, neurosurgery or oncosurgery,” pointed out the president of the association, Marián Petko, after Thursday’s meeting of the ANS Council.
He pointed out that the fundamental problem in the statements of thousands of doctors is their structure. “These are intensivists in the departments of anesthesiology and intensive care, surgeons, operating surgeons, gynecologists and operating gynecologists – that is, specialists who cannot be easily replaced,” explained Petko.
At the same time, ANS asks to be part of the commission that will participate in the creation of new reimbursement mechanisms from health insurance companies for hospitals. At the same time, Petko rejected claims that smaller regional hospitals receive higher reimbursements than large state hospitals.
The association also pointed out that the prepared consolidation package and the introduction of the transaction tax will have a significant negative impact on the hospitals affiliated to ANS, while the state contribution organizations will avoid this tax. “We ask the government and the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic that the transaction tax is not applied to hospitals and health care providers, as is the case with social services. Otherwise, we plan to file an anti-discrimination lawsuit against the Slovak Republic and inform the European Commission about the situation,” explained Petko.
More than 3,300 doctors from hospitals across Slovakia resigned as a sign of dissatisfaction with the situation in the healthcare sector. At the same time, doctors are also starting to consider dismissal from overtime work. They are willing to withdraw their resignations if the government starts fulfilling their demands. In particular, they insist on fulfilling the points of the memorandum from 2022, which was signed by the government cabinet at the time with LOZ.
Source: spravy.pravda.sk