Šabeder, who ran the hospital for more than a year before he was appointed minister in March, said he had presented the situation at UKC to Poklukar today.

The minister said he was happy with Poklukar's vision for UKC. "His programme too reflects the actual situation and the priorities of the hospital," he said, expressing confidence that the new head will also be backed by the medical staff.

Šabeder assured Poklular that he would have his full support and the support of the Health Ministry throughout his term, "which we know had frequently not been the case in the past".

But Šabeder believes this is crucial to make any kind of change.

Poklukar will also have complete freedom in picking his team, so there will be no political staffing, he asserted.

Poklukar, who previously served as the head of the Jesenice hospital for five years, pulling it out of the red, will start his four-year term on 1 August.

Coming out of the meeting with Šabeder, he said he was happy that he had gotten the minister's approval. "I'm aware that this is a big responsibility, not only for UKC Ljubljana but also an important part of the Slovenian healthcare system."

He plans to join forces with the medical staff as soon as possible and continue the restructuring that Šabeder started last year.

He said he would continue to exercise oversight over key supply contracts and the transparency of public calls for applications; experts who prepare technical specifications for the equipment would play a crucial role in that.

As for waiting times, Poklukar said he believed in the optimisation of work processes among all units of the hospital. This should not only cut costs, it should also help distribute the workload more evenly.

Asked about any staffing changes, he said he must first get to know the team. Time will tell if certain changes will be needed, he added.

The governing board of UKC Ljubljana picked Poklukar for the new general director of Slovenia's largest hospital on 11 July.

He will succeed Teodor Žepič, who took over as acting director in March after Šabeder left the post to take over as health minister.