LOZ: Doctors Now Considering Refusing to Take Overtime Shifts as Well

Bratislava, November 7 (TASR) - The Medical Trade Union Association (LOZ) on Thursday criticised the Health Ministry for ignoring its efforts to negotiate and underestimating the situation concerning doctors' resignations, with LOZ head Peter Visolajsky announcing that this why doctors are now considering refusing to engage in overtime shifts as well. "As our efforts to negotiate are being ignored by the Health Ministry, we are now considering refusing to engage in overtime as well. The most recent negotiations [between the ministry and the union] took place on October 25," claimed Visolajsky, adding that no other negotiations have been scheduled since then, despite the fact that the union has asked for them. According to Visolajsky, Health Minister Kamil Sasko (Voice-SD) is significantly underestimating the situation. Visolajsky added that doctors' resignations from hospitals continue to pile up, with the number currently exceeding 3,300. Hospital doctors across Slovakia started to resign en mass last week as a sign of dissatisfaction with the situation in the health-care sector. The doctors are willing to negotiate and withdraw their resignations if the government starts to meet their demands. In particular, they insist that a memorandum signed with LOZ by the then government in 2022 should be observed. At the same time, the doctors are demanding that the government should publicly declare that there will be no transformation of state hospitals into joint stock companies. Health Minister Sasko has confirmed that he is ready to negotiate further. zel/df