Healthcare system should be a national priority, PL

The healthcare sector in Moldova is outdated, while the medical institutions – morally and physically old, says the Liberal Party (PL). The Liberals consider that the healthcare system should be a national priority, especially the primary medical assistance system in rural areas, Info-Prim Neo reports, quoting a statement from the PL. According to the statistical data, quoted by the PL, over 300 villages do not have doctors. Such large towns as Chisinau, Balti, Soroca, Orhei, Cahul and Ungheni experience a shortage of medical personnel, while about 14 districts have only 60-70% of the staff they need. “The presidential program on the re-equipment of medical units was based on populist statements. In reality, no complex and consistent program was implemented in healthcare. The mandatory health insurance is a mockery because it does not cover all the diagnosis and treatment services and the people incur double costs: when they purchase the insurance policy and when they pay for the diagnosis and treatment services that should be free,” the PL says in the statement. The party considers that the cheapening of the cost of medicines in private drugstores is an electoral lie “because the government pursues an inequitable and non-transparent drugs policy”. “Most of the existing drugstores are private and can use a profit margin of up to 25%. There are few state-owned pharmacies and they prepare medicines only for the internal necessities that do not satisfy people’s needs,” the PL said. The Liberals says that in order to improve the situation, the allocations from the budget for the healthcare sector should be raised to 7% of the GDP. There should be opened regional diagnosis centers outfitted according to the latest technical standards in the field. The healthcare system should be decentralized so that the medical institutions become autonomous. The salaries of the medical personnel should be raised considerably and all the people should have access to medical services of a high quality.