Slovakia’s healthcare system is teetering on the brink of collapse as over 3,000 doctors have pledged to resign on New Year’s Eve. The impending mass walkout stems from deep-seated frustrations over inadequate pay, poor working conditions, and perceived government inaction.
Dr. Martin Zakucia, representing the Doctors’ Trade Union, emphasized the dire need for better funding and systemic reforms. “The basic problem is that we see the money in the healthcare system is divided wrongly or in a way we don’t like,” Zakucia stated. “We would like the state to pay more money to hospitals so the hospitals can then deliver better health care.”
The doctors accuse the government of reneging on a 2022 agreement encapsulated in a 13-point memorandum. The deal promised higher wages, improved training, and better hospital conditions, but many of these commitments remain unfulfilled, according to healthcare economist Martin Smetana.
“I really hope we won’t come to this point because this will end when the first patient dies who didn’t have to die,” Smetana warned. “All the government, the ministry, and the unions need is to find a compromise. And they need to write up a new memorandum.”
Public hospitals across Slovakia are grappling with staff shortages, exacerbated by the fact that nearly 20 percent of new medical graduates leave the country seeking better pay and conditions abroad. While the government recently approved a wage boost for nurses, doctors argue that the 6.4 percent raise offered to them falls short of the 9.7 percent increase promised in 2022.
“They broke the deal. And we want the deal back,” Zakucia declared. “We had the press conference with the president of the republic when it was signed, with all the important stakeholders in healthcare. Everyone said the law was good because it was stable.”
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Crisis in Slovakian healthcare system as doctors plan mass resignation
cgtn.com