Opposition Calling for Health Committee to Meet Regarding Presov Hospital

Bratislava, 5 May (TASR) - At a press conference on Tuesday, opposition MPs from the Christian Democrats (KDH), Progressive Slovakia (PS) and Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) called for an extraordinary meeting of the House health committee to discuss the suspension of the construction of the military hospital in Presov, demanding an explanation from Health Minister Kamil Sasko (Voice-SD) and Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) as to why the project has been suspended. "We have serious suspicions of financial chaos and a lack of transparency. There is absolute disorder regarding this matter. We therefore request that Health Minister Kamil Sasko, Defence Minister Robert Kalinak and acting Vice-premier Tomas Drucker (Voice-SD) should be invited to the meeting. They must clearly explain how the construction work is being financed and where the funds from Slovakia's Recovery and Resilience Plan, originally earmarked for this project, have gone," said MP Peter Stachura (KDH), adding that it's important for patients, society and the people of Slovakia for this hospital to be high-quality, safe and efficient. According to MP Oskar Dvorak (PS), there's a risk of losing €195 million. "Ministers Sasko and Drucker, however, are acting as if nothing is happening - as if hundreds of millions of euros were a matter of course and literally grew on trees. I therefore call on them to immediately explain how they intend to save this money and to begin negotiations with the European Commission without delay regarding its reallocation to areas in which it can still realistically help the Slovak health-care system," said Dvorak. "The Presov hospital is in trouble, and one thing is clear today: this hospital won't be completed before the [next] election. This means that cooperation between the current and future governments is absolutely essential to prevent delays in paying invoices, disputes and similar issues," added MP Tomas Szalay (SaS). Last autumn, the Defence Ministry signed a contract for developing and modernising the university hospital and polyclinic in Presov worth €447.8 million, ex-VAT. The new hospital was expected to be built by 2027, but the Defence Ministry suspended construction last week after a quality inspection of the work on the building's load-bearing elements. The defence minister also acknowledged that the completion date for the hospital's construction may be postponed. am/df