The Ministry of Health has launched a targeted scheme to support general medicine ambulances in scarce areas. Overall, more than ten million euros are defined from the Slovakian Recovery and Resilience Plan. As part of the call, new or existing offices can receive between 50 and 60 thousand Euro depending on the district and the municipality. The aim of the call is to support the emergence of 170 general offices in the gaps. The support scheme is part of the ongoing reform of general outpatient care.
The challenge is just one step on a long road to stabilise and subsequently develop the general medicine sector in Slovakia. I believe that, through the call, we are also on the right track, as we are now - an unsatisfactory state of repair. We are working intensively on the next steps of the overall reform. said Vladimir Lengvarsky, Minister of Health. The general outpatient care reform, as well as the call itself, is based on exact analytical evidence that has charted the current situation in the general medicine sector. The Ministry changed the original way in which the state of the public minimum network of general practitioners and primary paediatricians was evaluated. For the first time, the network was defined according to the new rules and instead of the counties a map was created based on districts. It is precisely thanks to detailed data at district and municipality level that we can target support much more effectively precisely where the situation is most complicated, Vladimir Lengvarsky continues. The aim is to increase the necessary capacity of the public minimum network of general outpatient care providers in scarce districts through financial compensation for the costs of setting up and operating offices during the first year of their operation. The main purpose of the financial contribution is to help general doctors and pediatricians to financially bridge the period of creation of the surrender tribe. The list of deprived areas was drawn up by the Ministry in cooperation with all self-governing regions. It was these who identified specific municipalities and additional information on the spatial possibilities for setting up an ambulance, the discounted amount of rents and other advantages offered by a particular municipality or self-governing region. The list will be updated annually. Currently, the sites with the most endangered network of general medicine offices include the districts of Považská Bystrica, Zlaté Moravce, Krupina and Poltár. The regions with the weakest represented network of pediatricians include Krupina, Great Krtíš, Gelnica and Malacky. New doctors may apply for a contribution to the establishment of the General Administration. However, the call is also addressed to existing general outpatient care providers who are planning to set up and operate another general office in addition to their current practice, employing another general doctor or paediatrician. The maximum amount of contribution at district level is 50 thousand Euro. At the level of a particular village up to 60 624 Euro. The allowance shall be paid in four instalments within twelve months. Entitlement to the first part
the contribution arises after the submission of a new final authorisation for the operation of the medical facility. The entitlement to the payment of the second to fourth part of the contribution depends on the rate of growth of the capital strain over a period of 12 months. All conditions are listed on the website https://www.health.gov.sk/?Plan-restructuring-and-resistance.