Tender for ambulances will be canceled and they will be operated by state

The tender for ambulances must be canceled, but Health Minister Kamil Šaško does not have to resign, PM Robert Fico said. The reason for canceling the tender was unspecified “unanswered questions and doubts,” but according to Fico, Šaško only erred in his communication. (sita.sk)

“As minister, I cannot cancel the tender,” Šaško replied. Lawyers at the ministry are looking for a way to stop and repeat the tender. (dennikN.sk) Šaško defended the tender by saying its conditions had remained unchanged for 20 years. He argued that the tender was not organized by his ministry but by the emergency services operations center, and that he had no information about it. (sme.sk)

The coalition party SNS proposed that all ambulance stations be operated by the state, claiming this would save money. Currently, state-owned companies operate about half of the ambulances. Fico acknowledged the important role of the state and said “the government could extend the licenses for current operators for some time and create time to consider how to proceed in this extremely lucrative part of Slovak healthcare.” The coalition will discuss the proposal this week.

(hnonline.sk)