The new amendment also regulates the office hours of paediatricians in their own clinics. (source: Pexels)
From July, outpatient emergency clinics for children will be closing earlier.
Following the adoption of an amendment to the Healthcare Providers Act on Tuesday, they will now be open until 20:00 instead of 22:00. These clinics commence their operations at 16:00 on weekdays.
On holidays, children’s outpatient emergency clinics will operate from 8:00 until 20:00.
The hours of the outpatient emergency clinics for adults remain unchanged. They are open on weekdays from 16:00 until 22:00, and on weekends from 19:00 until 22:00.
The approved amendment stipulates that the main purpose of the amendment is to relieve paediatricians, so that they have more space to rest and are able to provide health care for children in their paediatric clinics the next day.
Additionally, the amendment regulates the office hours of paediatricians in their own clinics. They will be available to young patients every working day of the week, including at least one day until 16:00, as reported by the TASR news agency.
To prevent the overburden of emergency clinics for adults, the opposition SaS party proposed introducing a fee for the misuse of outpatient emergency clinics for adults, by parents bringing their children to these clinics. MPs rejected the proposal.
The situation in paediatrics is serious, said the Health Ministry. The healthcare system is currently 20 percent short of paediatricians. Furthermore, nearly half of paediatricians are at retirement age.
"The shortage is only going to get worse," the ministry stressed.
