SLD deputies: draft on hospital restructuring needs to be revised

"There are undisputed opinions among lawyers that some of the proposed solutions are unconstitutional," said SLD senator and former Health Minister Marek Balicki. According to the government proposal, public hospitals would be obliged to transform themselves into public utility companies governed by the Corporate Code by January 1, 2006. This deadline is now likely to be scrapped altogether or pushed back by a year or two. However, the biggest problem in restructuring hospitals, which have accumulated debts of around zł.8 billion, will be resolving the matter of pay increases promised by the previous government but which have yet to come into effect due to a lack of funds. (Rzeczpospolita, Feb. 28-29, pp.A1, A3) T.J.