The government approved an agreement with the Medical Union (LOZ) at its meeting on Friday aimed at establishing social reconciliation in the health-care sector, committing itself to meeting several of the union’s demands while agreeing to further negotiations on disputed points, with LOZ supposed to ensure that doctors withdraw their resignation notices after the agreement is signed.
Health Minister Kamil Sasko (Hlas-SD) and the head of the Medical Union (LOZ) Peter Visolajsky will sign the agreement.
In the agreement, the government has committed itself to making sure that hospital doctors will receive salary increases in line with the original plan before consolidation. This will be provided by an amendment which should be submitted by the government to the Parliament via a fast-tracked legislative procedure. According to the agreement, Parliament has until the end of February to approve the changes.
The agreement also includes points on changes to the financing system for health-care facilities and measures to increase the number of doctors, nurses and midwives. The points also deal with enabling medical faculties to produce more high-quality Slovak doctors. In addition, the agreement covers demands related to a reform of education.
The agreement between the government and the Medical Trade Union Association (LOZ) is a compromise, and Slovak patients have won, said the Minister of Health after signing the agreement on social reconciliation in the health-care sector on Friday.
"The lives and health of patients are at the centre of this agreement and a common goal and interest of the government of the Slovak Republic and doctors. The result of this agreement, I think, can be summed up in three words - Slovak patients won, and they've won thanks to the compromise," said the Minister.
One of the most important points of the agreement, according to the minister, is the government's promise to carry out a thorough in-depth, personnel, process and material audit next year in order to make the management of state hospitals more efficient. "The audit will examine the efficiency of staffing, compliance with working hours, operational indicators, procurement of drugs and medical equipment," he added. He and the doctors also agreed that all pending legislative demands will be approved. "I want to state publicly that I honour our agreement, that I will keep our agreement, and it will be presented to the House exactly as we have jointly agreed," said the minister, expressing confidence in the full political support of his colleagues.
The agreement includes a point under which the government will submit the withdrawal of the principle of 'emergency situation' in its entirety to Parliament.
LOZ head Visolajsky said they will monitor the government closely in the foreseeable future to check whether it is meeting specific items of the new deal, which must be carried out by the end of February.
Visolajsky voiced his appreciation for the fact that both parties have arrived at a compromise, and he thanked the Health Minister as well as all 3,340 doctors who tendered mass resignations for helping to achieve the deal.
The LOZ head underlined that the agreement is to cover the period of the upcoming two months. The sooner the government and Parliament meet the demands, the sooner the situation will be resolved, he stated, adding that the final deadline is February 28. "We've made a deal and need to continue working on it and to monitor the politicians," said Visolajsky. "We'll be supervising this, exerting pressure on the system in order to improve health care."
The fact that a deal has been clinched between the LOZ and the Health Ministry is good news, but the health-care sector has been stabilised only temporarily and must become a subject of attention for the prime minister, House health committee Vice-chair Oskar Dvorak (PS) declared in response to the announcement of the deal on Friday.
"The agreement with the union is good news for patients, and we're ready to go to Parliament [during the holidays] concerning this. However, the health-care sector may be temporarily stabilised, but is still in a critical condition. We have moldy hospitals, the state is unable to build new ones and the personnel shortage crisis still lingers. It's unacceptable for [Prime Minister] Robert Fico to continue to ignore these problems," said Dvorak.
Source: TASR
