SaS: Health-care Sector to Lose Almost €260 million As Result of Consolidation

Bratislava, September 19 (TASR) - The proposed consolidation of public finances may cause collapse of the health-care sector as nearly €260 million is to be taken from this area, representatives of the opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party stated on Thursday, adding that this will cause a reduction in the salaries of health-care workers. They criticise Health Minister Zuzana Dolinkova (Voice-SD) for not fighting against this change. "Almost €260 million is to be taken away from the health-care sector. The money, which was supposed to be used for the salaries of health-care workers, won't be poured into the sector," MP Tomas Szalay (SaS) told a press conference on Thursday, noting that he'd expect Dolinkova to speak out against such consolidation efforts. "Minister Dolinkova has said that she acknowledges this and isn't fighting for her sector," he said, adding that this is one of the reasons for her ouster. Szalay said that if €260 million isn't sent to the health-care sector next year, the exit of Slovak health workers abroad will increase, adding that waiting times will also rise and the fee burden on patients will increase. "This is in direct contradiction to what the government announced that it wants to achieve in the health-care sector," he stressed. am/mcs