Nurses and Doctors Reject Approved Consolidation Cuts, Announce Further Steps

Bratislava, October 3 (TASR) - Representatives of doctors and nurses reject consolidation measures affecting the health-care sector, seeing the proposal, which Parliament approved on Thursday, as a threat to the running of the Slovak health-care system. Both the Nurses' and Midwives' Trade Union (OZ SaPA) and the Medical Trade Union (LOZ) have announced further steps to force the government to scrap the measures in the sector. "Parliament has kicked off today a collapse of the health-care sector and we're going on high alert because the state of our patients' health-care is under threat. The approval of the consolidation package is a direct attack on each and every one of us - on our work, on our lives and on the future of health care in this country," the nurses' union said, adding that with this move, Parliament has unleashed a senseless war between the Health Ministry, patients and the government. The Medical Trade Union also disagrees with the approved consolidation package. They declare that the government's decision will trigger the announced collection of doctors' resignations in hospitals. "With this, the government is causing a completely unnecessary conflict. Our position is known - we can't accept such a gross violation and non-compliance with the 2022 Memorandum between doctors and the government," said LOZ head Peter Visolajsky. am/mcs