Doctors arrive at a press conference in Bratislava on November 24, 2022. (source: TASR)
The Hospital Doctors’ Union has rejected the government’s latest offer, which was supposed to avert the departure of 2,100 doctors from medical facilities at the start of December.
“This does not solve the problems of Slovak hospitals,” Peter Visolajský, head of the union, said on Thursday.
To stabilise the number of healthcare workers, the government announced on November 23 that it would provide doctors and other medical workers with a so-called stabilisation contribution for a period of three years.
According to the proposal presented by Finance Minister Igor Matovič, each doctor would receive a one-off contribution of €10,000 in December. For every year of work experience, the doctor would receive an additional €1,000 as well. Other medical staff would receive €5,000.
“If a medical worker completes only one year out of three and decides to leave, they will return two-thirds of the contribution,” the minister explained.
The one-off measure would cost €400 million.
At the same time, the government said on Wednesday that its previous offer regarding higher wages for doctors was off the table as they had failed to accept the proposal by the deadline.
Heger asks neighbouring countries for help
In recent days, on several occasions PM Eduard Heger has asked hospital doctors not to quit.
Now, he has also turned to the prime ministers of Czechia, Poland and Hungary. They met in Košice on Thursday to discuss the current energy crisis and the war in Ukraine.
At the November 24 meeting in Košice, the prime ministers of Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary discussed the current situation in Europe in connection with Russia's aggression in Ukraine and the energy crisis. They also touched on illegal migration and the evaluation of cooperation in the V4 region. (source: TASR)
However, Heger also used the occasion to survey the leaders' willingness to help Slovakia swim through the healthcare crisis. The TASR news agency wrote that the three countries are willing to help and provide their hospital doctors.
It is not clear how many doctors from the neighbouring countries could arrive and help out at Slovak hospitals.
In 2011, when 1,200 doctors quit Slovak hospitals, the Czech Republic sent two buses with military doctors to Slovakia.
Deal on seven demands
On Thursday the union called on politicians to alleviate the healthcare situation, noting that the finance minister’s emotional communication and on-the-spot proposals, such as the stabilisation contribution, are of no help.
Visolajský believes that the announced measure would not convince young doctors to come and work at Slovak hospitals. Visolajský, a doctor who has worked in Nitra for 17 years, rejected the €27,000 from Matovič that he could receive. Instead, he would like to see more skilled nurses and doctors work at the Nitra hospital.
Visolajský also denied that the union would have submitted new demands, as Matovič claimed on Wednesday.
“We did not ask for any additional millions of euros, no additional demands,” he said.
Though doctors and the government have not agreed on higher salaries, the Health Ministry announced on Thursday that a deal on the other seven demands is nearly done, and a memorandum could be signed soon, the TASR news agency wrote.
Surgeon Lenka Fedorová holds up two pictures: one depicts an old hospital and the other portrays a new building owned by a health insurance company. November 24, 2022. (source: TASR)
Further negotiations will be held on Friday and on Monday.
State of emergency
Health Minister Vladimír Lengvarský said on Wednesday that he will turn to the government to declare a state of emergency unless a deal between the union and the government is reached by November 30.
This date should be the last day at work for the more than 2,000 doctors who have submitted their resignation letters.
Hospitals have already warned that they will be put into a difficult position without a deal between the two parties, as they will have to solely provide emergency care, if at all.
PM Heger believes that no state of emergency will be necessary. The finance minister, on the other hand, claims that such a state, if imposed, would not mean that medical workers would be forced to work at different hospitals.
“Only conscience can dictate this to medical workers,” Matovič said.
