PS Calls on Health Minister Sasko to Present Details of Scrapped Tender

Bratislava, 19 August (TASR) - Even though the ambulance service tender was scrapped two weeks ago, the public still doesn't know any of the details, while the future of health-care provision in the coming months remains unknown, House health committee vice-chair and MP for the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party Oskar Dvorak told a press briefing on Tuesday. He called on Health Minister Kamil Sasko (Voice-SD) to clarify the situation, explain the shortcomings, and say whether the tender was cancelled in a lawful manner. "Since the cancellation of the ambulance tender, minister Sasko has avoided giving any answers. He's repeatedly refused to explain the links to the Voice-SD party or the suspicions surrounding the applicants. He acts as if the matter were closed, but the public still doesn't know how the four ambulance stations that will cease their operations as early as in August will be covered, and there are more to come with each following month," said Dvorak. He added that the minister hasn't explained what corrective measures will be taken to prevent similar suspicions from arising in the future, and he also wants answers about the legal basis for the cancellation of the tender. "If the tender wasn't scrapped in a lawful manner, it means that the applicants from the previous tender will be able to sue the Slovak Republic and earn some money from all of us as taxpayers," warned Dvorak. He also criticised the fact that, even after two meetings of the coalition council, neither Sasko nor Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) has explained why the tender was non-transparent, and they've failed to come up with a new solution. The tender for ambulance service licences was criticised both by the opposition and the coalition Slovak National Party (SNS). Sasko asked the Prosecutor-General's Office to investigate the legality of the tender process. He also announced that the tender would be scrapped in a lawful manner. The tender was officially cancelled last Wednesday (13 August) by the Emergency Medical Services Operations Centre. Expert analyses are intended to show how the operation of ambulance services could be set up in the most effective manner. Leader of Voice–SD and Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok has presented three possible options - the nationalisation of ambulance services, priority rights granted to the state and public organisations to operate ambulance services, and integrating ambulances into a so-called integrated rescue system. jrg/df