Like every year, the SDS party once again turned to voters with its public opinion poll related to current topics. Sixty-four percent of the voters find it scandalous that the previous governments allocated more than 26 million euros for the Slovenian Press Agency and more than a billion euros for RTV Slovenia (from the collected mandatory RTV contributions) in the years from 2009 to 2020, while they allocated less than half a million euros for hospitals. On the other hand, the current government believes that in the future, it is important to invest as much European funding as possible into building new homes for the elderly and in the rehabilitation of healthcare, which is how they intend to take a step forward in development and provide sustainable care for the population.
The Slovenian Democratic Party (Slovenska demokratska stranka – SDS) emphasised that it has always respected the opinions of the voters and shaped its policies and decisions in a way that benefits all Slovenian citizens. Like every year, they traditionally addressed the public with a questionnaire this year as well, with which they wanted to find out more about the people’s views on the current political situation and gather their proposals for solutions for a better future for Slovenia. “We have received more than 27 thousand answers, for which we sincerely thank you and promise to take your opinions into account in our future decisions,” they emphasised.
In one of the questions, they pointed out that from 2009 to the end of 2020, just under half a million euros were allocated for hospitals (new constructions, renovations) from the budget of the Republic of Slovenia and from payments of bills of electricity consumers, however, the Slovenian Press Agency received 26 million euros, and over a billion euros in mandatory contributions were raised for the operation of the public service broadcaster RTV.
Most of the voters believe that this distribution of funds is scandalous
In their consultation with the voters, the SDS party wanted to know whether the voters found the apparent priorities in the distribution of funds correct. Most of the respondents, as many as 64 percent, believe that this distribution of funds is scandalous because this attitude is what is creating the state we are currently in, where people die while waiting for the date when they get to see a specialist. Thirty-one percent of the respondents believe that this distribution of funds is wrong, as health should matter more than the media, while five percent of the respondents agree with this distribution.
The Slovenian left, which has only now begun to show concern for the people’s health and the poor state of healthcare, mostly due to the planned purchasing of military equipment, did not seem to care about Slovenian healthcare all that much for the last ten years. In addition to allocating less than half a million euros for the construction of hospitals (they did not build any nursing homes or nursing hospitals), they spent large sums on wasteful studies. They were also not particularly bothered by the financing of the Mladina magazine with the money from the vascular stents.
The sacrifice and motivation of the current government led to the renovation of the empty ward, where covid-19 patients are now located
Slovenian construction workers succeeded in something that seemed almost impossible before this project. In just eight days, they managed to adapt the premises of the unfinished facilities of the Diagnostic-Therapeutic Service, which then became the covid-19 ward. Prior to that, the facility, the construction of which began in 2007, stood unfinished for several years. “We did it. A big thank you and congratulations to the team of the director of the University Medical Centre Ljubljana Janez Poklukar, who, in record time, provided new, modern facilities for patients with covid-19 in the most suitable location. Yes, where there is a will, there is a way. No one will be left without medical care,” Prime Minister Janez Janša commented on the news of the successful completion of the rapid adaptation, which he himself suggested.
European funds will be used for the renovation of the nursing hospital in Ljubljana and the new department for patients with lung diseases in Maribor
With funds for the recovery after the epidemic from the European fund, the government is planning to renovate the building of the nursing hospital of the University Medical Centre Ljubljana. The hospital is primarily intended for patients who need an extension of the non-acute treatment from various departments of the University Medical Centre in terms of additional rehabilitation and nursing care, before they can return to their home environment.
The hospital is currently only in a partially functional state, and the covid-19 crisis has shown us how urgent it is to have a nursing hospital. With the help of the ReactEU project, 4.5 million euros will be provided for this. The investment of 50 million euros for the complete renovation of the building of the University Medical Centre Ljubljana will soon follow. The renovations will last two and a half years and will be the largest investment within the ReactEU initiative.
With the help of the ReactEU, the government is also allocating 3.6 million euros for the construction of the Department of Lung Diseases at the University Medical Centre Maribor. The government also emphasised that they are going to allocate a record amount of European funds for the construction of new homes for the elderly and the rehabilitation of healthcare, with which they want to take a step forward in development and provide sustainable care to the population.
Sara Rančigaj
