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HPI
Negotiations of Minister of Health Ivan Uhliarik and representatives of the Association of Medical Emergency Services will continue. This is a result of their meeting. Minister and the Association believe that after all they will make an agreement and find the compromise. Both parties have a different view especially on the measure of profitability of emergency services. Ministry wants to reduce the profitability, but its ambition is to set up the system so that emergency medical service will be available and more effective.
Medical trade unionist are asking the members of Parliament not to approve the amendment to the Act on Healthcare Providers, which should give Government the right to decide about ending of strike of healthcare professionals. According the President of Medical Trade Union Marián Kollár these changes are perceived as an act of revenge and they are convinced, that this change has the only one objective, namely to prevent any resistance of doctors. Trade unionists invited other representatives of the employees to support their activities.
Association of emergency medical services announced before today's meeting on the Ministry of Health that it is prepared to accept the compromise, which will mean a saving for ministry and insurance companies with minimized impact on patients and the operation of emergency service. Association has allegedly prepared a few suggestions, such as transformation of first aid stations and the change could be reportedly done in a short time. The result should be an immediate saving and reduction of number of doctors in the system.
As in the past, also in third quarter of last year healthcare professionals working in state hospitals earned the most. Among them doctors the best paid doctors were in joint-stock companies, where they earned € 1 642 per month. In public hospitals operating under the Ministry of Health doctors earned € 1 642 per month and the least earned doctors in non-profit organizations, where it was € 1 390.
Doctors, who are getting out of stocks of vaccines, do not know, how long they will be able to vaccinate patients, as they are still refusing to agree with changes in payments for vaccines proposed by Ministry of Health and are considering the protests. Parents of young children as well as adults may soon come into a situation, when general practitioner will not vaccinate them, even though it is required by the law. Ministry of Health as well as Healthcare Surveillance Authority warn doctors, that with their attitude they threaten patients and also themselves.
Another cancellation of beds is about to take place in Slovak hospitals and also departments will be reduced, the daily Hospodárske noviny reports. Hospitals should miss out on about 3 000 beds. If the rationalization will take place, 6500 beds will disappear from the map within one year, as the insurance companies already realized one cancellation in July 2011 when the number of beds decreased by 3 300 and 156 departments were cancelled. According to the analyst from INEKO there still exists a space for cancellation of beds as the number of beds in Slovakia is above the average of OECD countries.
Reconstruction of the operating theaters in hospital in Komárno is completed. Operating theaters will be inaugurated on January the 24th this year. Nitra region as the owner of hospital invested € 452 000 in the reconstruction. The operator of hospital, non-profit organization PROLIFE, provided € 200 000 for the internal equipment of the theaters. Hospital in Komárno serves for the attraction zone of 110 000 inhabitants.
According to daily Pravda from 20/01/2012 the healthcare professionals in indebted state hospitals earn on average € 250 more than healthcare professionals e.g. in non-profit organizations. According to the Vice President of the Association of Hospitals in Slovakia this discrimination in salaries, depending on where healthcare professionals work, is caused by large differences in payments for the same services for different institutions. Next reason of discrimination in salaries of doctors and nurses is the disunited methodology of calculating of salaries
Association of Municipalities in Vranov region raised € 12 200 in public collection for the hospital in Vranov. Proceeds from the collection will be used for the purchase of a new mammograph. Charitable fundraising for the mammograph, both from particular self-governments and from inhabitants of Vranov region, lasted from October to December 2011. Hospital is currently considering the kind of new device that will be purchased.
According to internet edition of daily Hospodárske noviny from 12/01/2012 the representatives of patients with cancer of colon and rectum complained to the Ministry of Health. The reason: problem with providing modern cancer treatment in Liptovský Mikuláš hospital. Civic association Europacolon is asking the minister to respond to arisen situation. Association is also asking the ministry to deal with the solution of long-term situation of unavailability of targeted therapy, which allegedly resulted from the change of financing of anticancer pharmaceuticals in autumn 2010.
