The Univeristy Hospital in Bratislava. (source: SITA)
For over a year she had been working as a health assistant at the National Oncology Institute (NOU) in Bratislava. Now she is to be sent back to Ukraine because her work permit expired and the Slovak Labour Office refused to extend it.
"Physically, I can't take it anymore. If I didn't have a child, I would have left," said the health assistant. She asked the Sme daily not to publish her name out of fear of further persecutions by our authorities. Sme daily knows her full name.
"They are scared. Their stay was dismissed. They feel redundant. They are afraid that if media break the story, it will make it worse when it comes to the authorities," explained lawyer Barbora Bali. Specializing in this field, she has already obtained work permits for several Ukrainians.
According to her, the NOU health assistant is not the only one whose work permit has not been extended by the Labour Office. Two Ukrainian health workers at the University Hospital in Bratislava (UNB) experienced a similar approach.
According to the Health Ministry, more than 3,200 nurses are missing in Slovakia. The nurses' chamber sets the number at more than sixteen thousand.
Due to lack of nurses, the NOU had to temporarily close the breast surgery department last week.
Awaiting exception
In Ukraine, she was a nurse in the department of pediatric lung surgery for 13 years. At the NOU she is a health assistant in the internal department.
