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Tag: salary
Chairman of the Parliamentary Health Committee Viliam Novotný believes that money needed for covering the minimum wage claims of nurses are available. As an example he cited the reserve in state budget in amount of € 50 million, savings due to approved acts on pharmaceuticals, increased collection of premium from economically active policyholders or savings on inefficient prescribing. In his opinion it is firstly necessary to look for the internal savings in the health care and afterwards, if necessary, use the existing reserve in amount of € 50 million.
Nurses are due to the new act on minimum wage claims, approved by Parliament in the beginning of February, under big pressure. According to the president of Slovak Chamber of Nurses and Midwives Mária Lévyová currently is being doubt not only the Act, but also the activities of the Chamber. Nurses are according to her discouraged and their superiors threaten them with dismissals. President of the Chamber would, instead of degradation of nurses, welcome the constructive negotiations between providers and health insurance companies.
Small hospitals are not able to get sufficient funds for increasing of salaries of doctors and nurses. Situation is reportedly becoming critical. According to head of Association of Hospitals in Slovakia Marián Petko hospitals are not able to handle the situation. Improving of wages of doctors and nurses will cause the situation when approximately 80% of all revenues from health insurance companies will be used for salaries. Healthcare prociders, however, claim that they also have to buy pharmaceuticals and other goods. If they do not get more money, they will reportedly not be able to provide the treatment of patients.
Hospitals with policyholders mainly from private insurance companies do not know how to get money for higher salaries of doctors. Private insurance companies, unlike the Všeobecná zdravotná poisťovňa, did not increase the resources. The Association of Slovak Hospitals repeatedly asked the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Finance to release € 50 million from the reserve in the state budget. The Association will ask for opening of this year's state budget for additional financing.
Slovak Chamber of Nurses and Midwives appealed on the nursing sisters in nursing homes, in the case if their employers do not increase their wages from April, to stop providing the nursing care. Chamber is concerned that employer can do so, because these nursing sisters according to the law definition do not provide the health care, but only ensure it. Chamber also advises these sisters to start only ensuring the health care. It means that they would only call the doctor or emergency service, or send the client of the nursing home to hospital.
Hospitals associated in the Association of Hospitals in Slovakia claim that salaries of doctors and nurses wlll take up to 80% of total revenues. According to the President of the Association Marián Petko, if the Government does not increase the resources, since May hospitals will not be able to provide the health care and in June they will collapse. He also warned that if the wages of other healthcare professionals increase, hospitals will have to use all the money from health insurance companies only for salaries.
Hospital doctors, who did not get increased salary, even though it is set by the law, may complaint to the MoH or bring a suit against hospital. However, those doctors who received lower January payment because hospitals did not pay them their personal allowance, just have to reconcile with the situation. The personal allowance is a not-claimable component of the salary and the employer does not have to admit it to the employee.
Medical Trade Union requires the further government to adopt an Act on doctors' wages. Wages of doctors should be thus adjusted by a special law, just like the wages of nurses and midwives. Proposal of the new law will be, according to the Medical Trade Union, in regard to the end of current election season, the subject of negotiation with future members of government.
Fight of doctors for higher salaries did not end successfully for everyone. For many of them the January payment was disappointing. Some salaries increased only by few euros, by others the directors of hospitals cut into the personal allowances, and so now they have lower salary than before. According to the Minister of Health Ivan Uhliarik the law determining the salaries of doctors applies to all hospitals. Management of each hospital should, according to him, find the resources for salaries. Minister recommends doctors to contact the ministry, if necessary.
Police will not prosecute members of Medical Trade Union, headed by the chairman Marián Kollár, for the protest action of doctors, which culminated in the declaration of emergency state. This results from the order of District Police Headquarters in Bratislava V, which rejected more than 20 complaints. According to the police investigator, Marián Kollár and his colleagues in trade union did not commit any criminal offence and they only set up their claims granted by the Constitution and Labour Code.
