NEWS
Prime Minister Borut Pahor after the meeting with representatives of FIDES: “The oath primarily dictates a concern for the common good of the people”
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, together with the Minister of Health, Dorijan Marušič, today had a working meeting with the leaders of FIDES on provision of a 24-hour health care service and a healthcare system reform. In his statement to the press after the meeting, Prime Minister Pahor said that they would continue to look for solutions with which also the FIDES representatives would agree; representatives of the Government, FIDES, the Medical Chamber and the Medical Association will meet again on Monday. At today’s meeting, the interlocutors identified some possibilities to solve the issues we face today. “I wish that joint solutions could be found to establish a modern health care system, in which a patient interest would be a top priority together with the accessibility to health care services and the quality of services, which would be equal for all, irrespective of social differences,” Mr Pahor emphasised in his statement to the press.
“My political assessment of the situation is that, no matter what the price, we will not give in, since this concerns health of patients, which is the most important. We will also not allow that some individual cases deprive us of all energy needed for carrying out the healthcare system reform," further explained Prime Minister Pahor, adding: “I hope that today’s dialogue strengthened the confidence of one of our social partners, however, it is not our only interlocutor. If we do not limit public expenditure, then we stand no chance to overcome the current crisis and strong protests against these measures merely slow down our way out of crisis. Our efforts are directed towards a reasonable and fair decrease in public expenditure, which will also yield the right results.”
Prime Minister Pahor went on to underline that representatives of the Government and physicians take the oath at the beginning of their work and both must comply with it: “The oath given means that also in the current situation the common good of people, i.e., the patient’s interest, is of primary concern. If we find solutions that comply with this primary objective, we can consider the agreement to be legitimate and our work will be dedicated to this objective. We will continue to look for solutions until we find them.”