IntoBalance 02/2008 (english)

President Ivan Gašparovič has recommended the Minister of Health Ivan Uhliarik to stop the transformation of hospitals into joint-stock companies. He has recommended Government not to adopt the Certificates of Corporation and to postpone the transformation until the early elections. According to President the public fears that the transformation would lead to privatization and thereby to the abolition of state medical facilities. At the same time he addressed himself to medical trade unions to initiate the withdrawal of physicians' notices.

162,000 people want to change the health insurance company from the January next year and most of them opted for the private insurance company Dôvera, which will grow by more than 40,000 policyholders. Všeobecná zdravotná poisťovňa will continue as the biggest health insurance company, but will lose its 61,000 policyholders. Private health insurance company Union grew by 20 000 clients. The insurance company Dôvera informed, that 2/3 of new clients are economically inactive people.

According to daily Pravda from 5/11/2011 Ministry of Health in the new regulation shifts about 100 pharmaceuticals to the list of supplementary medicines, which are not covered by the health insurance. Ministry in the case of these pharmaceuticals explained, that in many cases they are the medicines without sufficient documented evidence of clinical efficacy or they are too expansive. Experts oppose and argue some of these pharmaceuticals can not be replaced by others.

According to daily Hospodárske noviny from 4/11/2011 more than ten thousand patients are waiting for a planned operation. Although the law says that no one should wait for the operation longer than one year, there are thousands of them. There are 2 400 patients on the waiting lists of Všeobecná zdravotná poisťovňa. The longest waiting times are for the hip replacements and other orthopaedic surgery. Hospitals put patients on the waiting lists when they can not treat them within 3 months. The reason may be a lack of material, physicians on the leave of absence, financial limits from insurance companies or high number of patients already on the list.

Medical trade unions from the countries of Visegrad Four (V4) agreed to establish a common federation, in which they will join the forces. Health trade unionists from Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland want to increase pressure on their governments to enforce their interest. According to the head of Polish trade union club current situation in the health care system can no longer be tolerated. He also said that the post-communist countries did not take over the design of health systems in Western Europe, which had a negative impact on staff and patients.

The Associated tissue bank in University Hospital in Košice started the reconstruction. It will result in the modern laboratories and outpatient part. Work should be completed in May 2012, the costs were calculated to € 1.134 million. Medical and laboratory equipment will cost more than € 1 million. The hospital received money from the EU Operational programme Health.

The strike of the doctors is according to the Minister of Health currently just about the salaries. He noted, that the main requirement of trade unions (to stop the transformation of hospitals) is already fulfilled. He also agrees with further requirements – observance of the Labor code and more financial resources in the healthcare system. Problem remains, however, with the rise of salaries. Trade unionists are requiring the base wage in amount from € 1 250 to € 4 000. Along with the surcharges the salary of the doctor would rise to € 2 000 - € 4 000. Such an increase would cost the state annually about € 200 million, which is, according to Minister, unrealistic for the Slovak economy.

Children̍s' Faculty Hospital in Bratislava is starting the first phase of building of cancer biobank, which will be able to storage the samples of bone marrow and peripheral blood of paediatric haematological malignancies, ergo tumour cells of patients. This procedure has become an indispensable part of modern therapy in paediatric oncology. Anti-Cancer League  has contributed € 9 400 for the purchase of deepfreezing box, which can freeze the samples to minus 86 degrees Celsius and long-term store the cells of patients safe and in a good quality. Box capacity is about 5 000 samples.

Žilina self-governing region has suspended the planned transformation of four regional hospitals. Hospitals in Dolný Kubín, Liptovský Mikuláš, Trstená and Čadca will therefore continue their operation as contributory organizations. Members of regional parliament want to see how the situation will develop, and wait for the new government and its decision whether the transformation of the state-owned hospitals will continue or not.

Nurses and midwives should get better from April next year. The government had approved the draft bill on their pay. The average wage of nurses and midwives should be, compared to the first half of this year, increased by 24  % in average. The law applies on nurses and midwives and also on the nurses working in foster homes. Increase of the minimum wage was one of the requirements of nurses and midwives in the petition backed by more than 243 000 citizens. The costs of this change are more than € 77 million for the next year.