Some maternity hospitals likely to close from next year

Maternity hospitals in which fewer than 400 babies are born each year should close as of the next year, according to statements by Health Ministry State Secretary Michal Palkovic. Based on the information in the media, these maternity hospitals are reportedly in Partizanske, Myjava (both Trencin region), Snina (Presov region), Revuca (Banska Bystrica region), and Kralovsky Chlmec (Kosice region). The hospitals do not yet have information about their closure. The scrapping of five maternity hospitals is to be brought about by the second phase of the hospital network optimisation, about which the ministry informed the representatives of the SK8 Self-governing Regions Association on Monday. It concerns additional medical programmes that the ministry approved for hospitals based on specified criteria. For example, in the case of maternity hospitals, the criterion was at least 400 deliveries per year. Local government representatives want to discuss the assigned additional programmes with the management of individual hospitals, and Palkovic admitted possible changes. However, he doesn't expect any changes in the obstetric health-care agenda.