How to force doctors to work? Threaten with jail
18 December 2024
Slovakia's healthcare system is unraveling. As of 1 January 2025, a staggering 3300 doctors and medical professionals will formally step down from their duties, with 1500 of them refusing weekend and night shifts, in some regions even as of this Tuesday. To keep doctors in hospitals, the Slovak government took a destructive route – adopting a change in the law that is threatening to send doctors to jail for one year if they choose to quit their job under an "emergency situation".
When we reported on Slovakia's healthcare crisis and the broader trend across Europe a month ago, we did not foresee such an escalation. The government has previously declared an emergency situation in times of a threat to the safety of public health such as the Covid-19 pandemic or the massive influx of refugees from Ukraine. Now, this measure might potentially be used in multiple regions as a way to keep doctors and other medical professionals in the hospitals despite their concerns remaining unaddressed. The amendment to the law will stall their resignation notice period.
 | Tamara Kanuchova The president of the doctor's union called the new change an acceptance of forced labour. He criticised the government which is failing to comply with a memorandum signed by the previous government in 2022. He also said that the doctors' demands as part of the memorandum could be realistically completed by the end of the year. Those were meant to improve working conditions, for example by increasing salaries, the amount of medical staff in hospitals or reforming the education of doctors. The minister of health is asking for them to cancel their resignations. He claims that 16 out of 19 of the union's demands have already been met. Nonetheless, the number of doctors withdrawing their resignation has not significantly increased since. The unions currently ask for negotiations in a smaller circle between the ministry of health and them instead of including healthcare provider companies. After the meetings of this week, the crisis can still continue in multiple ways before the end of the month when the doctors' resignations will officially take effect. The union's president sees the only way to prevent a complete collapse of healthcare in further discussion until the parties can reach a consensus. |
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