SaS: State of Emergency Could Be Declared Due to Doctors' Resignations

Bratislava, December 3 (TASR) - The opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party is warning that the government might declare a state of emergency due to the situation regarding doctors' resignation notices, TASR learnt at a press conference held by SaS MPs on Tuesday. The party rejects such a move and doesn't consider forcing doctors to work by adopting a state of emergency to be a solution. "According to our information, the government is going to adopt a bill at its session that would address the situation by introducing forced labour for doctors who have filed resignation notices," stated MP Tomas Szalay (SaS), criticising the alleged plan and claiming that this is a government failure. "Forced labour is not the solution. The government wants to force doctors to work against their will instead of addressing the causes of the crisis over which these doctors handed in their notice," he stated. The MP believes that the current situation needs to be addressed through systemic measures, not repressive ones. "Doctors are leaving or threatening to leave because the system isn't working. We need to motivate them to stay, motivate them with better working conditions, investment in hospitals and remuneration that is fair and depends on the performance of individual health-care workers, not with threats such as prison sentences," he added. More than 3,300 doctors from hospitals across the country have handed in their resignation notices as a show of dissatisfaction with the situation in the health-care sector. They are willing to withdraw them if the government starts meeting their demands. am/df