One year ago the Ministry of Health finally gave the green light for the Šempeter emergency ward. However, choosing a building contractor and the later filing of appeals and revisions slowed down the whole process. The foundation stone was laid down in February this year and the construction of the much needed structure is now entering its final stage. The whole process is speeded up because of the European funds intended for the project.

Right next to the blue hospital a red emergency ward is rising fast... It has to be finished this year, otherwise there will no European money for the project. More than half of all the funds – amounting to a total of seven million euros – are being contributed by the European Union, which has set unrelenting conditions for its (our) non-refundable money. Nataša Fikfak, the acting head of the Šempter hospital, warns that the European financial injection does not only depend on the situation at the construction site: "We will receive the European money only when the last newly built emergency ward in Slovenia becomes fully operational. It is true that we were the last to begin with the construction work, but we surely aren't in the worst situation. Despite our scary problems in the beginning, we are now successfully meeting the deadlines… They have more problems elsewhere. But all the fourteen emergency wards across Slovenia have to be ready for work, for the European money to come in."

From bone fractures to heart attacks – all in one place
Waiting for the new emergency wards are the patients, doctors, and all the staff at the Šempeter hospital. "In our regional hospital, which is responsible for 110 thousand people, at the moment there is only one emergency room. During peak hours, before noon and until 6 p.m., we could well do with more ambulances, where parallel work could be done. In that way we would finally shorten waiting times at hospitals and in front of emergency rooms," says Alijana Trošt Rupnik, a specialist in internal medicine.

Mojca Dumančič, Radio Slovenija; translated by K. J.