Too expensive hospital in Bratislava

The government has not explained the high costs of the planned new hospital in Bratislava, €1.5bn including VAT, points out Martin Šuster, member of fiscal responsibility council RRZ. In other state hospitals (Martin, Banská Bystrica, and Prešov), the cost per bed is around €0.6m, while in Vaj-nory, the plan is €1.6m. Similarly, the recently completed Penta hospital in Bory had a cost per bed of €0.6m. (Šuster) The government will build the new hospital under a regime in which its plans will not be evaluated by the Value for Money Unit. The project is being run by Defense Minister Robert Kaliňák. This leaves considerable room for mismanagement and corruption.