The government of the Slovak Republic approved the intention of transforming the Faculty Hospital with the Polyclinic F. D. Roosevelt Banská Bystrica into a university hospital at an exit meeting in Krivan. The Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic is thus starting a coordinated process, which will result in a concrete implementation plan and a broader vision of the development of university education of doctors and other health professionals.
Today we decide who will stand next to the patient's bed in the middle of Slovakia in ten years. It's not a table change on the building. It's a decision that Central Slovakia will stop raising doctors remotely and start raising them at home,Kamil Šaško, Minister for Health, said.
This is due to significant regional differences in the availability of doctors and dentists. While there are 1 315 patients in the Bratislava region, 2 343 patients in the Banská Bystrica region, almost double. Of the doctors aged 24 to 35, 26 percent operate in the Bratislava region, only 8 percent in Banská Bystrica. For dental practitioners in this age category, the Banská Bystrica region, with seven percent, is the last among all regions. Slovakia has four medical faculties, two of them in Bratislava, one in Martin and one in Košice. There is not one in Central Slovakia.
It is not enough to discuss whether Slovakia has enough doctors. We are taking concrete steps - already two years ago we increased the order of the state, thanks to which every year 150 Slovak medics are educated at our medical faculties. Now we want to take the next step and exploit the potential of a new top hospital to connect medicine, education, science and research. Our ambition is to raise enough of our own doctors, keep talent at home and build a respected center of medical education from Slovakia, stressed the Minister of Education, Tomáš Drucker.
Faculty Hospital with Polyclinic F. D. Roosevelta Banská Bystrica is one of the key health institutions in Slovakia. It provides highly specialised health care and has long been involved in the preparation of future doctors and other health professionals who take internships and selected subjects. Transformation into a university hospital is to clearly confirm this task and create the conditions for its systematic development, both in the field of practical teaching and specialisation and certification.

This is a vision that our hospital has been heading towards for a long time, since we have been participating in the teaching of SZU doctors for a long time and since this year we have signed a contract with Comenius University. We have long been a leader in innovation, we strongly support individuals and whole teams in developing processes in healthcare provision. We therefore see the change in status as an excellent starting point for the further long-term sustainable development of the hospital, said the Director General of FNsP FD Roosevelt in Banská Bystrica Miriam Lapuníková.
The intention comes at a time when the construction of a new hospital in Banská Bystrica finishes, which will be one of the most technologically advanced medical facilities in Slovakia. The new building alone is not enough. We need quality people, doctors, nurses and other health workers, and an environment that can educate, train and motivate them to stay at home. Our aim is not to create disputes between existing faculties or institutions, but to expand Slovakia's capacity to train health professionals, added the Minister for Health.
The link between hospital, university education and scientific research capacity creates conditions for conducting clinical studies, for developing new diagnostic and therapeutic procedures and for transferring research results directly into clinical practice. Such a model is characteristic of the most successful university medical centres in Europe and is a prerequisite for the long-term improvement of healthcare quality.
Individual steps will be prepared by the Ministry of Health in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic, hospital, universities and other professional partners. All solutions must be based on the needs of patients, the health system and individual regions.