Minister: Ambulance reform will improve quality of services

Social Affairs Minister Carmen Joller (Reform Party) responded to criticism of the planned ambulance reform at a government press conference, stating that the changes are meant to raise the quality of medical care and will be drawn up in cooperation with experts.

Joller noted that over recent weeks, various specialists and service providers have expressed concerns about the proposed changes. "We are, of course, listening and will take all these comments into account," the minister said.

She explained that discussion of the reform began after the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Health Insurance Fund and the Health Board presented proposals based on development directions previously agreed with ambulance care experts. "We are waiting for feedback. Another meeting will take place tomorrow. All planned changes will be developed together with experts," Joller stressed.

The minister reminded that the last major changes to the ambulance system took place in 2014. Since then, both the distribution of the population and the nature of calls to which teams respond have changed. For this reason, some teams are planned to be redistributed. "If possible and necessary, the composition of some teams will also be changed. But this will in no way affect the quality of care provided. On the contrary, quality control will become more effective. Ambulance bases will be located closer to people, so teams will be able to arrive at calls faster," the minister said.

She added that ambulance representatives and sector experts will be able to provide more details about the content of the reform in a few months.