SaS Files Criminal Complaint over Ambulance Service Tender

Bratislava, 14 January (TASR) – The opposition SaS party is filing a criminal complaint over the ambulance service tender on suspicion of the misuse of the powers of a public official and obstruction of an official decision, SaS MP Tomas Szalay announced at a press conference on Wednesday. If a new tender is announced, SaS plans to propose changes to the rules. "We're filing the criminal complaint because we believe there was obstruction of an official decision and that the non-transparent tender was one of the biggest scandals of this government ... There are really many reasons for filing this complaint, one of them being the claim by Environment Minister Tomas Taraba [an SNS nominee] that he knew in advance that the tender had been tailored for a single winner," said Szalay. According to Szalay, the tender has paralysed emergency medical services, as providers don't know what the future operating conditions will be. He also warned that the state could face lawsuits from bidders who took part in the tender. In the event of a new tender, SaS considers it essential to change legislation so that objective quality and price criteria are applied. "Ambulance providers without a track record could receive only a conditional licence until they build their reputation and quality indicators. Those with a history should be assessed on the basis of quality indicators," proposed Szalay. The MP also believes that the tender for emergency medical service providers should take price into account. "Of course not at 100 percent, but at least to some extent. If a provider offers a discount on reimbursement for emergency medical services, it should be advantaged in the competition so that it leads not only to higher quality but also greater efficiency, that is, savings of public funds," he added, noting that SaS is making its proposals available to the Health Ministry and is ready to discuss them. The tender for operating emergency medical service ambulances was announced by the Emergency Medical Service Operations Centre in May 2025. The opposition and part of the coalition criticised the tender for lack of transparency, and the operations centre cancelled it in August. Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka said in November that the ministry had acted in breach of the law and filed complaints. As the ministry did not uphold them, Zilinka filed 32 administrative lawsuits. The ministry maintains that the ambulance tender was cancelled lawfully and that the subsequent decisions to terminate proceedings were also lawful. mf/df