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HPI
Ministry of Health announced a public invitation for receiving the grant support for the scientific research projects. Support should be in accordance with the intentions of Ministry of Health as well as with the recommendations of European Commission. Although applications should be submitted by the end of May this year, funds will not be available so soon. Given that Ministry of Health does not have funds for implementation of projects in the financial year 2012, subsidy may be provided in the financial year 2013.
Medical rescuers will communicate through the walkie-talkie and therefore they will not rely on the cellular networks. This resulted from the agreement signed between the Director of Operational Medical Emergency Service Centre and the Ministry of Home Affairs. Walkie-talkies should be installed to the ambulances of medical rescue service as well as to the Regional Operational Medical Emergency Service Centres in the forthcoming weeks. Rescuers should this way avoid the dropouts of the cellular networks.
Association of Hospitals in Slovakia, which associates dozens of regional hospitals, for now did not make an agreement with private health insurance company Union on the adjustment of pricing conditions from April. Insurance company Union submitted the offer, which Association refused as inconvenient. Reportedly it does not consider the increased costs on the adjustment of salaries of doctors, neither the adjustment of salaries of nurses.
After Slovak Medical Chamber also company Nemocničná, a.s., which is the owner of hospital in Malacky, is considering the legal attack of the Act on minimum wage claims of nurses. It does not have money to fulfil the law effective from April the 1st. Hospital therefore offered nurses the solution that would divide their duty between the health care part and administrative part. Nurses, however, refused this offer.
Nurses in the hospital in Žiar nad Hronom, under the threat of dismissal, are signing the amendments to the contracts, which divides their duty between the nurse and administrative officer. This way hospital wants to circumvent the law which increases their salaries. According to the President of Slovak Chamber of Nurses and Midwives the amendments to the contracts are a violation of law in providing of health care, restriction of their profession and also a threat of the safety of patients.
Hospitals of the Trnava self-governing region will respect the law and will increase the wages of nurses from April 1st. This will require in each of three regional hospitals in this year approximately € 1.5 million, together with increasing of salaries of doctors. According to the head of the region Tibor Mikuš this increasing can not be compensated with any measures in management, because the wage and payroll payments cost about 80% of hospital revenues. Increasing of salaries will, according to him, goes at the expense of indebtedness of hospitals.
Všeobecná zdravotná poisťovňa – VšZP (General Health Insurance Company) offered Association of Hospitals in Slovakia another increasing of payments. These payments should increase in the beginning of April this year and should help hospitals to cover the increasing of wages of nurses. Association should announce the final statement to the proposal until Thursday. General Health Insurance Company already increased the payments for hospitals in December last year and in February this year.
Investment group Penta will probably expand its business in pharmacy. Currently it owns 136 pharmacies under the brand Dr. Max. Now it should get about 40 pharmacies from the network Domov Zdravia. Penta is waiting for the approval of Antimonopoly Office. Contract of sale was allegedly signed in October 2011. Transaction is still not completed. In the case of approval of Antimonopoly Office it will come to the settlement of the transaction.
President of the Slovak Trade Union of the Health and Social Services claims that trade unions are expecting that public hospitals will from April implement the increasing of salaries of healthcare professionals, which resulted from the decision of the judge in the collective dispute. This way he reacted to the statement of the Association of Faculty Hospitals that it will defend against this decision on the Court. The action from the side of hospitals allegedly shocked trade unionists, which have not yet met with such a reaction in the collective bargaining.
Polyclinic in the General hospital in Gelnica will pass the reconstruction of the outpatient care areas and the modernization of technologies. Hospital has already announced the tender. Estimated value of the order is almost € 884 000 and will be financed also from the Operational programme Health. Project should be completed within the two years from signing of the contract.
