Health ministry rejects SaS calls concerning stratification of hospitals

Slovakia's health ministry has rejected a call by the opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party to cease investments in hospitals that SaS claims are in contradiction with hospital stratification reform, arguing that such recommendations put health care under threat. "We consider such statements to present a danger to the process of streamlining health-care quality, as these investments carry enormous importance for both patients receiving treatment as well as doctors, nurses and other medical personnel in upgrading their working conditions," ministry spokesperson Zuzana Eliasova said.