Tag: hospitals

Permits for the operation of general hospitals are issued by self-governing regions yet. According to Amendment to Act on providers, this competence goes back to the Ministry of Health.

There will be no more direct access to specialists. Patients will have to visit GP for recommendation.

According to Amendment, the teaching hospital can be only one that is seat in the area of the faculty/college and also is included in the minimal public network of hospitals. In other words, the teaching hospital can only be a state hospital, expect the one - St. Elisabeth Cancer Institute in Bratislava.

Permits for emergency providers should be valid for longer time, as the Ministry of Health proposed the prolongation of validity of permits for operation of emergency medical service providers from 4 to 6 years. 

The amendment will also cancel the obligation of health insurance to contract any general practitioner who cares at least one of its insured.

The amendment should enter into force in April 2013.

Former director of Hospital in Veľký Krtíš goes to prison for ten years, as he has tried to sell Hospital for € 100. According to a spokeswoman of Regional Court's Office in Banska Bystrica Nina Spurna, court found guilty former director of hospital of a particularly serious crime as breaching of duties in the management of foreign assets in the trial stage. Mr. Vachula as statutory of non-profit organization General Hospital in Veľký Krtíš signed a contract with a private company from Banska Bystrica, for just symbolic one hundred euros. This happened three years ago. According to him, reason for the sale was only to save the property of the hospital, which allegedly wanted some interest groups defraud and liquidate.

Agreement between physicians and management of Hospital of Žilina is threatened. Doctors currently claims that they will terminate an agreement, if Hospital release more than seven doctors per year; if someone submits a complaint to the doctor who fought for his rights; if the director due to organizational changes will close or concatenate departments without the adjustment of trade unions and if director will prohibit employees to publicly express an opinion on the operation of the hospital. According to Minister of Health Zuzana Zvolenska, making another and new conditions for the implementation of the agreement is wrong and she believes that this is just some misunderstanding.

Svet zdravia continues with organization changes in its ten hospitals. Company Svet zdravia owned by investment group Penta, after operational changes and centralization of management of hospitals in Košice, is planning to change their medical focus. In approximately half of the year could be created new specialized operational centers for ophthalmology, oncology, neurology and neonatology in the eastern part of Slovakia. Since the takeover of hospitals by Svet zdravia the many directors of hospitals were changed. Penta is also negotiating the takeover of hospitals in neighbouring countries and hopes that in Slovakia will be more acquisitions in the near future. 

Striking doctors in Hospital in Žilina still did not come to an agreement with the management of Hospital. According to spokeswoman of Ministry of Health Zuzana Čižmáriková, the hospital still can provide emergency services during following days.
Ministry of Health Zuzana Zvolenská came to the hospital immediately after her arrive from Brussels to stop all elective surgeries.

After two years old promise of former Minister of Health Ivan Uhliarik (KDH) about better monitoring of decubitis in hospitals, only present Minister of Health Zuzana Zvolenská came with the Government ordinance these days. According to daily SME, the improvement is minimal; whereas the new government ordinance only amplifies the scale of decubitis ranking and the key parameter which accounts their occurrence did not change. On the present, there are some hospitals which do not report any decubitis during all year to the health insurances companies. The better reporting should be guaranteed by new legal standards of the Ministry, which it is allegedly already working on.

The doctors working at Department of Traumatology in Hospital in Žilina who refused to do evening services on Monday, were from Wednesday replaced by military doctors. This information was given by the Minister of Health Zuzna Zvolenska and Minister of Defence Martin Glváč. Available should be two traumatologist, two general surgeons and four orthopaedists. Altogether 29 certified doctors of free medical unit, who have been helping in the hospitals during last year strike of doctors, should be available. 

To suppliers of medical devices owes the most Private Clinics. The liability after maturity date increased on € 22.7 million whereby the state facilities owe € 6.1 million. The hospitals in Bratislava, Trnava and Banská Bystrica have the highest liability. According to spokeswoman of Hospital in Banská Bystrica Ružena Maťašeje, the increase of debt is caused by imbalance between incomes and outcomes of the hospital. As she mentioned, increasing of costs of salaries and operating costs of hospital also causes indebtedness. This Hospital owes to suppliers of medical devices € 3.3 million.

One-day surgery can save resources and is also usually more comfortable for the patient. Few years ago, one-day surgery was not common in Slovakia but nowadays almost a third of all interventions are performed by one-day surgery. According to President of the Slovak Association of One-day Surgery Eva Vidová, there are still shortcomings in some specializations, for instance urology. As she noticed, hospitals are trying to keep their beds, although, many of them are redundant. 

The Doctors of Hospital in Žilina who rebelled against the new employment contracts and refuse to serve the emergency services have the highest average salary in all government hospitals. While certified doctor of University Hospital in Bratislava earns monthly € 2.259 gross, the doctors in Žilina receives on average € 2.841. Above standard wages are paid through the duplicated reimbursement of emergency services. If doctors have during one month three services, they receive a reward of 50 per cent of basic salary together with the price stated in internal decree. President of the Medical Trade Union in Žilina Peter Blasko, sees no problem in cancelling this allowance.