This year, Health Minister Kamil Šaško (Hlas-SD) wants to focus mainly on discussions and measures related to the stabilization of nurses and midwives in the sector. He is also interested in coming up with a new drug strategy and wants to focus on prevention. He announced this at a press conference on Tuesday to mark one hundred days since he took office as minister.
"The absolutely most important topic of all for me is the area of education and personnel strategy in the field of human resources, where I want to place total emphasis this year primarily on work, discussions and measures with nurses and midwives," said Šaško.
His priorities also include prevention. "If some formal processes are passed, we will announce the establishment of the National Screening Center. On Wednesday (February 12), I will have a meeting with patient organizations, where we want to establish a patient council, perhaps a patient ombudsman, we will see," the minister said.
As part of prevention, he also wants to focus on minimizing risky behavior in young people. "Here is my key interest - the health of the younger generation, adolescents in particular, and to prevent the development of various addictions to the maximum extent possible," he stated. According to him, initiatives aimed at abstinence need to be supported.
In the opinion of House Health Committee Vice-chair Oskar Dvořák (PS), ever since he took up his post, the Health Minister has been doing nothing but putting out fires, with the coalition itself being responsible for most of the problems he faces.
Dvořák cited the "botched" consolidation, the threat of mass resignations by doctors as well as awkward talks with doctor unionists. Because of these issues, in Dvořák 's view, the Health Minister has had no time to concentrate on the health sector’s urgent problems, such as increasing fees and collapsing outpatient departments.
"We still face a shortage in health personnel ranging in thousands and don't know the decision on the new hospital in Bratislava even today," stated Dvořák, who believes that the Minister does not even enjoy support from the government. "The Finance Minister doesn't view investments in the health sector as a priority and thus the health budget cannot meet the ambitious plans of Kamil Šaško. If he really wanted to fulfill his plans, he would need support from the Prime Minister. However, Robert Fico already declared that he's not responsible for this government portfolio and that the health segment is not a prime ministerial issue."
Source: TASR
