Ljubljana - Dnevnik accuses Health Minister Danijel Bešič Loredan of "making charges faster than he thinks" as it looks at the criminal complaint the ministry has lodged against the Celje General Hospital management due to a patient mix-up.

"His trigger-happiness creates the impression of vengefulness. [Medical director Franc] Vindišar was a state secretary at the Health Ministry in [Janez] Janša's last government," the paper notes in the commentary The Worst Ever.

The paper points to warnings by the Medical Chamber that the Celje case needs to be carefully analysed so that systemic changes can be put in place to improve patient safety.

It also notes that the minister's actions are not a departure from how his predecessors were doing things. "In the background of criminal complaints, outrage and dismissal of hospital managements ... has always lurked an element of settling scores with unwanted players in the healthcare system."

However, what sets Bešič Loredan apart is his labelling of the error as "unfathomable". "In the past decade it has seemed that such thinking is a thing of the past. After all, if an event is extraordinary there is no rush to improve safety and quality," the paper concludes.