Pellegrini: Bratislava Will Have New State University Hospital

Pellegrini: Bratislava Will Have New State University Hospital

Bratislava, April 24 (TASR) – Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini stated after talks with financial group Penta that the state still has an interest in building a new university hospital in Bratislava, adding that either it will be built on the site of the shell of the unfinished Razsochy hospital in the Bratislava borough of Lamac or the state will try to persuade Penta to offer its hospital to the state under construction at Bory, which is also in Lamac.

The latter, however, will be taken into account only if it’s possible to expand the hospital.

“The state hasn’t given up on the idea of having one big state university hospital where comprehensive health care would be provided,” said Pellegrini. At the meeting, Penta informed Pellegrini about its plans for the hospital at Bory. According to Pellegrini, the hospital doesn’t meet the parameters a big modern university hospital in Bratislava should have.

Pellegrini went on to add that if the state came up with an official offer and Penta turned it down, the state will build a new modern general hospital on the Razsochy site.

The prime minister noted that the state can’t allow top-quality health care be in the hands of a private company. “We can’t know to whom the investor will sell the hospital in the end. We’ve got to have our own hospital, it’s the state’s strategic interest,” he explained.

Pellegrini wants to keep negotiating with Penta, but not for months. The question has to be dealt with during May, according to him. He admitted that should the state go for the Razsochy variant, the hospital could be finished around 2024.

Penta Investments partner Eduard Matak stated after the meeting that Penta and the state have different views on the question of what direction health care in Bratislava should follow.

Representatives of medical staff who also participated in the meeting support the Razsochy variant. They are of the opinion that the state needs a comprehensive hospital with at least 1000 beds, which the hospital at Bory doesn’t offer as it’s projected to contain approximately 400 beds.