Maternity ward shutdown meets with disapproval

Hospital administrators and the municipality of Partizánske, in western Slovakia, have expressed dismay at a decision by the government to shut the local maternity ward.

As a result of the Health Ministry's ongoing process of hospital optimisation and categorisation, the hospital in Partizánske, Trenčín Region, is facing numerous changes. In particular, its gynaecology-maternity and neonatal wards are slated for closure. The measure has met with disapproval from the hospital's personnel and managers. Along with Partizánske, the hospital in Myjava faces a similar potential maternity ward closure, the TASR newswire reported.

“There would be only three maternity wards left in the whole region,” Partizánske Hospital director Gabriel Krbúšik stated. With the beginning of the new year, future mothers from Partizánske and nearby municipalities would have to travel to hospitals in Topoľčany or Bojnice which are both at least half an hour by car.

Partizánske Hospital witnessed 400 births last year, according to Krbúšik. Back in 2019 there were 600 and in 2020-2021 about 500 per year. In Partizánske hospital, there are currently five doctors dealing with childbirths. The average of 80 births per doctor per year is actually higher than in larger hospitals because of the lower numbers of healthcare personnel, Krbúšik added. Altogether, 29 people work in Partizánske's hospital.

Other maternity wards in three other cities in Trenčín Region have been shut down in the recent past. Additional hospitals could undergo further changes and shutdowns as part of the ministry's planned reforms. All the other maternity wards facing the threat of closure recorded fewer than 400 births last year.

Partizánske mayor Jozef Božik is siding with the hospital, arguing that access to healthcare would significantly drop with the maternity ward's shutdown. Municipal representatives are demanding that the Ministry of Health re-evaluate the change.