LOZ: Emergency Medical Services Reform Could Save Slovakia €40 Mn a Year

Bratislava, 1 September (TASR) – The Doctors’ Trade Union (LOZ) believes that a reform of Slovakia’s emergency medical services system could save the country approximately €40 million per year, as the current ambulance system is unnecessarily costly, LOZ chair Peter Visolajsky told TASR on Monday. LOZ pointed to the model used in the Czech Republic, where emergency services are operated by regional governments and not leased or sold to private groups. „A responsible government, when consolidating public finances, first plugs up the leaks before turning to taxpayers for money. On the other hand, a government that ignores millions leaking into the pockets of financial groups while raising taxes on citizens is neither social nor truly serving the public — it serves financial groups and oligarchs. That’s why we hope the Health Minister and coalition politicians will soon present the ambulance reform they have promised,” Visolajsky stated. mf