Deputy Health Minister Rath to oversee hospital care

Deputy Health Minister David Rath has declared war on those hospitals, which fail to provide proper care for in-patients. The director of the largest state-owned insurance company, VZP, is expected to present him with a list of up to forty of the country's worst offenders, Mr Rath said in a TV discussion programme on Sunday. A commission of experts will evaluate the hospitals and the worst cases will be fined or even closed down. This is part of a health ministry effort to lower the 11 billion crown (some 450 million US dollars) health insurance debt and improve overall health care.