Health Ministry Ready to Discuss Salaries with Nurses

Bratislava, April 20 (TASR) – Nurses’ salaries have grown more rapidly than the average salary recently, stated the Health Ministry on Thursday in response to a survey carried out by the Slovak Nurses and Midwives Chamber (SKSaPA) that partly concerned nurses’ pay.

The survey, which was conducted on a sample of 2,298 nurses last year, showed that most of them were dissatisfied with their salaries.

According to the results, the largest band (21 percent) included nurses whose gross monthly salaries reach €601-700 per month, while 19 percent earn €701-800, another 19 percent receive €801-900, and 11 percent make €501-600. As many as 2 percent of nurses earn between €405-500 per month, with 1 percent receiving below €405.

Health Ministry spokesperson Zuzana Eliasova responded by saying that at the moment the average gross monthly salary of nurses working in health-care facilities that fall under the Health Ministry reaches almost €1,100 per month.

Eliasova went on to say that Health Minister Tomas Drucker (a Smer-SD nominee) is ready to discuss the issue of the financial remuneration of nurses. “We view salary as an important motivating factor for health-care workers at all levels,” said the ministry spokesperson, adding that a discussion concerning salaries should be initiated in the context of a proposal to increase nurses’ responsibilities, which is due to be submitted to the Cabinet soon.

Meanwhile, nurses also complained about feeling jaded, as only one quarter of them don’t have to work overtime, revealed the survey.

The Health Ministry stated that medical assistants whose responsibilities were increased recently should unburden the overworked nurses. “We’ve shifted part of their [nurses’] work to assistants, and we’ve had positive feedback from health-care providers in this regard,” said Eliasova. Nurses claim the opposite, however, adding that this measure has only caused chaos at certain hospitals.