Prime Minister Golob: "The public healthcare system is this Government's first priority"

SLOVENIA, December 9 - This was part of a series of visits by which Prime Minister Golob wanted to see how long-term care is being introduced in care homes.

"Following a meeting with the management of the care home in Izlake in the Zagorje Municipality, I remain optimistic that residents there will also receive lower bills in January," said the Prime Minister, who had earlier attended the opening of the new building of the Hiša Mavrice (Rainbow House) at the Šentvid pri Stični Children's Hospital.

"I saw the gratitude in the eyes of the home's residents for being able to reach old age and live their life with dignity. I hope that the awareness of how the network of social public services takes care of all generations – from children, the most vulnerable, to elderly – is what makes our country so special," said the Prime Minister and highlighted the role of the public healthcare system within the network of social public services.

"The public healthcare system is this Government's first priority – to strengthen it so that it will continue to be accessible to all, regardless of their financial status. So that everyone can rely on it when faced with problems," said Prime Minister Golob. He added that this is why it is so important to clearly state our view on any deviations, including moral ones.

"I have re-examined the data and they show that in this term of office the Government allocated significantly more funds to the public healthcare system than any other Government to date. There are now more doctors and other medical staff in the system than ever before. Despite this, waiting lists in some branches and services are simply not getting shorter. And when it becomes clear that a small group of doctors is exploiting these waiting lists for personal gain, it becomes even more important to decisively say no to such practices. Enough is enough," said the Prime Minister. He once again congratulated the management of the hospital in Novo mesto that uncovered the conduct of its doctors.

Prime Minister Golob called on the managements of hospitals and other public institutions across Slovenia to also carry out enhanced professional audits in the same manner and with the same level of diligence. "Wherever they identify unlawful conduct, where doctors in public institutions artificially prolong waiting times and redirect patients to their private clinics," said the Prime Minister.

"This is the key issue – without addressing it, we will never be able to shorten waiting lists. Only when such practices are unequivocally rejected within the public system will waiting lists finally disappear. That is why I believe that it is the duty of us all, and in particular of the managements of hospitals, to take a very clear stance on this and encourage their staff to do the same," he added. He expressed his gratitude to all doctors and other medical staff in all institutions, the silent majority who show unwavering dedication to their patients, day after day.

Prime Minister Golob assessed the visit to Zasavje as very successful. "We saw that Zasavje slowly but surely found its way out from coalmining and heavy industry, and that in many areas it can serve as an inspiration for other regions of Slovenia," he summarised the visit to Zasavje.

The Prime Minister highlighted the structural problems of Zasavje, as a great majority of the population commutes to work outside the region. "This is one of the topics we discussed with the mayors at today's working lunch – how to improve the infrastructure, connections, logistics, so that these commutes are less time consuming and safer," he said. He added that they also discussed how to attract more jobs to Zasavje by developing tourism and other activities. "It was agreed that together we would prepare a development plan for the Zasavje region and with this plan to also enter the next term of office together," concluded Prime Minister Golob.