The transfer of district hospitals under the management of the Ministry of Health will enable the state to massively invest in hospital modernization and equipment, said Minister of Health Ala Nemerenco. According to her, the hospitals founded by the Ministry of Health now benefit from investments in infrastructure, while the district hospitals do not, IPN reports.
The bill to amend the law on health protection, which was given a first reading by Parliament, provides for the free transfer of the assets and lots of district hospitals. The minister said the reform will contribute to modernizing the district hospitals by massive investments in repair works and in modern equipment.
“In 2014-2015, the largest investment made by all the district councilors together for all district hospitals was of 85 million lei. Since 2014, the investments have decreased. The district councils invest in district hospitals 0.1% - 0.2% of the hospital’s budget annually. The law provides that the district council, as the founder of, is obliged to invest, but we cannot invest there. We invest only in hospitals in which we are the founder. This year, for example, as a result of negotiations with the Ministry of Finance, for the first time we obtained a budget for our hospitals that is two times higher than the largest budget the Ministry of Health ever had for the purpose,” Ala Nemerenco stated in the program “Shadow Cabinet” on JurnalTV channel.
The official said the donations or purchases of equipment made by the Ministry of Health are not taken to hospitals as the necessary local infrastructure is absent.
“In the hospital, if you repaired this and do not have modern equipment and skilled medical personnel there, high-quality medical services cannot be ensured. All things are interconnected. We are now massively installing equipment. We obtain generators, but how can we transmit them if we the whole electrical system is at the level of the 1960s and the new generator donated by the Government of France cannot be connected to what is there in the hospital? We bring new tomographs that cost €500,000 to €1 million. How can we install these tomographs in a ward where there are cockroaches and mice?” asked the minister.
On Thursday, the bill to transfer the district hospitals from the management of district councils under the Ministry of Health, was given a first reading, being adopted with the votes of 52 PAS MPs. According to the sponsors of the bill, the measure will lead to an improvement in the quality of services for patients by increasing investments, ensuring systemic planning of services and optimizing hospital management.
