Ljubljana, Dec 25 (IANS) Slovenia’s Constitutional Court has ruled that doctors employed in public medical institutions must be allowed to work in private practices during their free time, striking down a key provision of the government’s health reform.
The provision, adopted by parliament in April, barred most publicly employed doctors from engaging in private practice. The government argued that the ban was necessary to improve efficiency in the national health-care system, reports Xinhua news agency.
Slovenia’s public health sector has been under pressure, with many patients facing waiting times of one year or longer for certain medical procedures.
The Trade Union of Doctors and Dentists Fides challenged the ban before the Constitutional Court, arguing that it would further weaken the public health system by prompting doctors to leave public institutions in order to continue private practice.
In its ruling, the court said the prohibition violated the constitutional right to free economic initiative and ordered parliament to amend the law within one year.
Bojana Beovic, president of the Medical Chamber of Slovenia, welcomed the ruling, saying it was “in the interest of Slovenia’s citizens and patients”.
The decision deals a blow to the government led by Prime Minister Robert Golob ahead of the general election scheduled for March 22, as health reform has been a central element of its political agenda.
In a separate development, Slovenia’s economic sentiment indicator rose to 0.6 points in December, the highest level since June 2022, the Statistical Office said on Wednesday.
December also marked the first time since December 2022 that the indicator turned positive, according to official data.
In recent years, economic sentiment in Slovenia has remained negative amid weak external demand for Slovenian products, reflecting an economic slowdown across the European Union, which includes some of Slovenia’s key trading partners.
“The indicator was 1.2 points higher than in November and 3.6 points higher compared with December last year,” the statistical office said in a report.
The year-on-year improvement was driven by increased confidence in manufacturing, services, construction and among consumers, the office said.
Confidence in manufacturing strengthened on expectations of higher production, while sentiment in the service sector improved due to anticipated growth in demand.
The government expects the Slovenian economy to rebound in 2026, supported by higher investment and exports. According to its September forecast, economic growth in 2026 is projected to accelerate to 2.1 per cent, up from an estimated 0.8 per cent this year.
–IANS
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