Forty-seven minimally invasive surgeries on children with congenital cardiac defects were performed last year in five hospitals under contracts with the Mandatory Health Insurance Company, which paid 3.6 million lei for this.
In an official response to IPN, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection said the average bill of a surgery was over 78,000 lei.
Overall, each year the National Hospital “Timofei Moșneaga” performs around 320 surgeries to correct congenital cardiac defects. The hospital is equipped with everything needed in modern cardiac surgery.
The Ministry is now working to identify funds to open a new department to specialize in newborn heart surgery. The costs are estimated at 30 million lei, which includes expenses on state-of-the-art neonatal equipment.
According to the National Public Health Agency, last year over five thousand patients, including four thousand minors, were on public records as suffering from congenital defects of the cardiovascular system.