New joint UK-Slovak health collaboration

A new joint UK-Slovak programme to boost collaboration into a range of medical conditions was announced by Health Minister John Huttontoday.Mr Hutton signed a joint agreement between the UK and Slovak Republic covering medicine and public health.

The agreement will enable medical specialists in both countries todevelop work across a range of issues - such as general surgery, transplant surgery and cancer diagosis and treatment.

John Hutton said: "The UK is full committed to developing closer collaboration on health with our new EU partners. The agreement we're signing today is a positive example of this commitment. It will allow specialists from both our countries to develop new contacts and areas for furthe rresearch. "Both countries will inform the WHO of the most important results from their co-operation. John Hutton and Rudolf Zajac, Minister of Health of the Slovak Republic, signed The Plan of Co-operation in the Fields of Medicine and Public Health on 17 May 2004.

The agreement runs until 31 December 2006 and will be subject to a review at the end of this period. Health co-operation between the two countries will take the following forms:

• exchange of specialists for the purpose of study and consultation;
• exchange of information in relation to clinical practice and relevant research being carried out in the two countries;
• exchange of information and, as appropriate, co-operation one quipment, pharmaceutical products and technological services and developments related to medicine and public health;
• encouragement of attendance at professional and scientific meetings by specialists from both countries; and
• encouragement of direct links between appropriate institutions in each country.

Fields within which co-operation will take place will be:

• general surgery;
• transplant surgery;
• transplantation of tissues;
• cardiac surgery with special emphasis on children;
• cancer, including is aetiology, diagnosis and treatment;
• organisation of outpatient services, including primary care;
• post graduate training of health professionals;
• public health; and
• pharmaceutical issues.