Health Minister Zuzana Dolinková speaking during a press conference. (source: TASR)
On Wednesday, May 29, the government approved construction of a new, so-called national hospital in Ružinov, Bratislava.
The hospital will have a capacity of 1,015 beds and is expected to be completed by the end of 2032. A location at Rázsochy in the city's north-west – which was the site of a previous, abortive plan to build a large hospital in the 1990s – will now host a new National Institute of Children's Diseases (NÚDCH) with 446 beds, slated for completion by 2031, the TASR newswire reported.
Health Minister Zuzana Dolinková (Hlas) expressed her commitment to delivering the new university hospital quickly and cost-effectively. She hopes that new laws on public procurement and strategic investments will shorten the estimated project timelines. Costs are estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of euros, though no specific figures were provided.
"The Health Ministry, in collaboration with other departments, is seeking appropriate funding sources and alternatives for the projects," Dolinková said.
The ministry will also present development concepts, feasibility studies, and take the necessary steps to implement the investment plan, she said.
Hospital location dispute
The Health Ministry believes that these projects will ensure efficient and economical use of public funds and create an effective construction timeline for the national university hospital in Bratislava, benefiting patients and healthcare workers alike. The decision to propose both hospital locations is based on an architectural study by Amberg Engineering Slovakia.
The national hospital will be constructed by renovating block D of the existing Ružinov hospital and building a new structure on the current site of the adjacent winter sports stadium. There is also potential for an educational campus, which was originally planned for Rázsochy.
Building the NÚDCH at Rázsochy will centralise specialised paediatric medicine in Slovakia and align with modern trends in children's healthcare. Minister Dolinková mentioned that the financial and time estimates for reconstructing the existing children's institute in Kramáre are similar to building a new NÚDCH at Rázsochy.
The leadership of the University Hospital Bratislava (UNB), the NÚDCH, and the Medical Faculty of Comenius University (LF UK) welcomed the government's decision. "If there are no delays, this part of Bratislava is more suitable for the new [children's] hospital," said Juraj Payer, dean of the medical faculty.
He believes the hospital will be built sooner than originally planned for Rázsochy. "We want to elevate the NÚDCH to the level that Slovak patients deserve, into the 21st century. This visualisation fulfils that," stated NÚDCH Director Peter Bartoň.
However, Peter Visolajský, head of the Medical Trade Union Association, argued that the decision would increase costs and delay the new hospital. "After today, it's clear that Slovakia will not have a national hospital. The extension in Ružinov can't be considered comprehensive," he remarked.
Opposition reacts
The INEKO economic think tank expressed skepticism regarding the feasibility of the National University Hospital project in Ružinov, citing what it called unrealistically short completion times and low projected costs. It criticised the lack of thorough discussion and analysis, questioning whether the government's decision reflects the best interests of healthcare advancement.
Additionally, INEKO suggested that Slovakia's most modern medical facility might not emerge in Ružinov but instead in Banská Bystrica, central Slovakia, where a new facility is currently under construction.
Opposition party Progressive Slovakia (PS) criticised the decision to delay the construction of the new national hospital in Bratislava's Ružinov, warning of potential fragmentation in healthcare provision and prolonged construction timelines.
"Unfortunately, and as a consequence of the lacking discussion, I dare to assert that the minister's decision follows neither of these objectives," declared PS MP Oskar Dvořák, referring to Dolinková's professed prioritisation of timely and comprehensive healthcare services.
Instead, the party asserted, the plans will disrupt previously initiated processes and risk prolonging the project. Additionally, it expressed its concern that the new plan would force patients to make unnecessary journeys across the city.
The construction of a new hospital in Bratislava has been a topic for decades, initially discussed in the 1980s. The partially built hospital at Rázsochy has already been demolished.
