Education of health workers in secondary health schools is financed from the state budget according to Regulation No 2/2004 of the Government of Slovakia Z.z., laying down the details of the breakdown of funds from the state budget for primary schools, secondary schools, practical teaching centres, primary art schools and school establishments, as amended.
According to § 89 of Law 131/2002, the main source of funding for the training of health professionals in universities is Z.z. on higher education institutions and amending certain laws, as amended, subsidies from the state budget pursuant to a special regulation, i.e. Law No 523/2004 Z.z. on the financial rules of the public administration and amending certain laws as amended by the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic.
Students of public universities preparing for the health profession pay tuition fees and fees associated with the study at the public university according to § 92 and § 93 of Law No 131/2002 Z.z. on universities.
In order to cover the expenditure necessary for its activities, the public higher education institution shall also use additional resources and shall draw up a budget consisting of revenue and costs per calendar year and shall manage it on the basis of it.
Further training of health workers under Paragraph 39a of Law 351/2005 Coll. amending Act No. 578/2004 Z.z. on health care providers, health workers, health professional organisations and amending certain laws as amended by Act No 720/2004 The Z.z. and the amendment of certain laws may be financed by:
- employers' means
- budgets of self-governing regions or municipalities
- the means of health insurance budgets
- reimbursement of healthcare professionals participating in further training
- State budget resources
- resources of foundations and other legal persons and natural persons
- other sources. Financing from State resources is not eligible.
1) EUROPEAN UNION FUNDS
In line with the Lisbon strategy, the Slovak Republic should support educational programmes aimed at improving, adapting and restoring the qualifications of health workers according to the requirements and rules of the European Union, in order to ensure the quality of health services provided and the competitiveness of Slovak health in the European Community.
At the government level in May 2006, the process of approval of the National Strategic Reference Framework 2007'2013 was carried out by developing the Lisbon strategy in terms of financial support for Slovakia's development from the European Structural and Cohesion Funds for the years. It sought to obtain its own operational programme, which should also include financial support for the healthcare workers' training system. Further training of health workers will finally be supported from the operational programme Education, the managing authority of which is the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic. In this context, the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic should be the cooperating authority.
In the meantime, it is possible to present projects to draw on existing Community funds for the purpose of promoting education, which should, in addition to those mentioned above, go further, such as the Leonardo da Vinci programme, where funds can be obtained for projects aiming at creating and transferring innovation and improving the quality of vocational education and training, for the use of information and communication technologies in vocational training, for the creation of transnational networks of open and distance learning, or for testing new approaches to training related to new conditions in the working process. There is a new Erasmus Mundus programme that is geared towards promoting higher education.
Funds are also available, although they are not primarily intended to support education, but support for education forms an integral part of them, such as the Matra project, bilateral cooperation programmes with Norway, the Netherlands and so on, but also the Public Health programme.
Information on the use of European funds is published on the websites of the institutions concerned on an ongoing basis, in particular on: www.health.gov.sk, www.saaic.sk. Also on the page www.build.gov.sk, because the Ministry of Construction and Regional Development of the Slovak Republic was the managing authority for the Operational Programme Instructions and manuals for submission of projects can be found, for example, also on the website www.eeagrants.sk.
2) STATE CONTRIBUTIONS
Until now, only the Slovak University of Health Bratislava has obtained State resources to provide further training for health workers. Once plurality has been introduced into the healthcare professionals' continuing training system, transparent conditions should be developed to allow other educational establishments accredited by the Ministry of Health to apply for these funds to carry out further training programmes for healthcare professionals.
For the implementation of this is created in the decree No 07440/2006-SL of the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic of 17 March 2006 laying down the scope, method and other conditions for granting subsidies under the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic. According to § 1 §. 1 letter (b) the quoted order in the Journal of the MZ SR, an amount of 17-23 of 1 April 2006 subsidy from the budget chapter of the Ministry of Health may be granted to the applicant, who is a natural person or a legal person, also to support activities in the field of training of health professionals. The decree was registered under No 164/2006 in the Code of Laws Z.z., which has become generally binding.
After obtaining the funds, these educational institutions are expected to be able to draw on them from the chapter of MZ SR only on the basis of a well-defined contract concluded between the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic and the educational establishment.
In the allocation of funds, the declared priorities of the department will certainly be set out in the relevant strategic materials, to which the development of emergency health services can currently be included, for example, and thus support the training of qualified health professionals for emergency health services, the development of the National Plan for the Promotion of Mental Health, and thus the training of professionals in the field, the Oncological Programme and thus the training of cancer specialists, the Cardiovascular Programme, and thus the training of professionals in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, etc.
Given the limited resources currently available in the state budget, it is necessary to focus more on the wider opportunities offered by the European Union's structural and other funds (Chapter European Union Funds). Drawing of funds from the chapter of MZ SR by means of a subsidy is not eligible, the applicant must fulfil the prescribed conditions for granting the subsidy.
3) HEIGHT OF HEALTH CENTRE
The amount of the health care professional's reimbursement is regulated by the legislation in force and in the following categories of healthcare professionals:
- The amount of reimbursement of doctor, dentist and pharmacist for further training provided by specialization study for the performance of specialized work activities (hereinafter referred to as "specialization study') is 10% of the economically eligible costs of the educational activity for the entire study, but not more than 40,000 Sk.
- The amount of medical, dental and pharmacist reimbursement for further training provided by specialization studies in the specialization field, which follows completion in one of the specialization fields, is 10% of the economically eligible costs of the educational activity, but not more than 30 000 Sk.
- The amount of medical reimbursement for further education provided by certification training for the performance of certified work activities for the whole of the training is 10% of the economically eligible costs of the educational activity, but not more than 20 000 Sk.
- The amount of reimbursement for the full course of the specialization study of nurse, midwife, assistant, laboratory, technician and other medical staff is 10% of the economically eligible cost of the educational activity, but not more than 7 000 Sk.
- The amount of the reimbursement of the certification training for the performance of certified nurse, midwife, assistant, laboratory, technician and other medical staff shall be 10% of the economically eligible costs of the educational activity for the entire preparation, but not more than 50% of the cost of the training activity.
- 7,000 Sk, if a medical worker has obtained a degree II higher education,
- 4,000 Sk, if a medical worker has obtained a degree I or higher vocational education,
- 2,000 CZK, if the healthcare professional has obtained a full medium vocational education,
- 500 Sk, if the health worker has obtained a medium vocational education.
- The amount of compensation referred to in points (a) to (d) shall be determined by reference to the highest level of education attained by the healthcare professional in the relevant medical profession.
- The amount of compensation for the participation of a healthcare professional in one educational activity completed in the framework of continuous training, other than those referred to in paragraphs in the left-hand column, among healthcare professionals who
- perform the health profession in an employment relationship, 50% of the economically eligible costs of the educational activity, but not more than 1 500 Sk,
- they do not pursue the health profession in an employment relationship, is 100% of the economically eligible costs of the educational activity.
- The amount of reimbursement for health care training for other healthcare professionals for the entire preparation is 10% of the economically eligible costs of the educational activity, but not more than 3 000 Sk.
- Costs shall be considered as economically eligible costs, which shall be demonstrated by supporting documents, cost calculations, invoicing or tax documents, in particular
- costs associated with the use of tangible and intangible assets necessary to carry out the educational activity;
- remuneration, travel, accommodation and other costs related to the activities of the professional guarantor, lecturer, trainer or member of the teaching staff, as well as to the supervision of the educational activity,
- postal, use of telecommunications and electronic means to ensure educational activity; and
- salary and other administrative costs associated with the educational activity, namely the costs of including a healthcare professional in further education, completing further training and issuing a degree of specialisation, a certificate or a certificate of preparation for the work in the health sector.
The level of reimbursement of a healthcare professional enrolled in a specialisation study in the relevant specialization field at its own cost shall be determined at the price of the specialisation study.
Source: Education of Health Care Professionals in the Slovak Republic - brochure MZ SR 2006
Accreditation of further training of healthcare professionals - brochure MZ SR 2006