PUNISHMENTS for medical workers who refuse to come to work during a state of emergency will not be as high as originally proposed. The parliamentary constitutional committee accepted President Ivan Gašparovič’s proposal to decrease the time during which they would lose their registration with their respective professional chambers from 10 years to two.
Gašparovič explained that he found the original proposal, which, in addition to revoking registration, included two to five years in prison and a fine of up to €3,300, too strict, the TASR newswire reported on June 19.
The MPs passed the amendment to the Criminal Code, which also affected the law on regulation of health-care professions, on May 22. While the Health Ministry defended the change by referring to patient protection and the need to have special legislation for emergency situations, medical employee representatives branded the move an attempt to criminalise their profession and said they were considering steps to prevent the new rules from coming into effect.
