RRI Live!

Listen to Radio Romania International Live

Emergency medical assistance in Romania

Romania provides some of the best emergency care in Europe – was the conclusion of the first Interdisciplinary Emergency Medicine Congress held in Cluj Napoca.

Emergency medical assistance in Romania
Emergency medical assistance in Romania

, 24.09.2014, 13:48

Romania is among Europe’s only five countries where emergency medicine is taught as a separate discipline at medical school. In addition, Romania has implemented a national programme to provide emergency wards and ambulances with the appropriate equipment, which has created a good standard in medical practice.



One of the problems highlighted by the participants in the Congress is that few emergency hospitals in this country provide all types of emergency services and patients often have to travel from one hospital to another to receive needed emergency care.



One piece of good news is that, starting this autumn, the Ministry of Health will earmark additional funds to ambulance services through a budget adjustment. The money will be used to hire and promote staff and invest in infrastructure and maintenance of the ambulance fleet.



Moreover, the Ministry of Health has approved 160 new jobs in ambulance services and the employment process is likely to continue. Alexandra Tanase, a volunteer who has been working in the ambulance department for two years has shared with us her experience:



”The situation has improved in time in the sense that the people who coordinate the activity of volunteers have done their best to make our jobs more comfortable so that we can concentrate on our tasks. The ambulance service has three types of vehicles, one for patient transport only, another containing a paramedic and a volunteer and a third type with specialised medical staff. This last type of ambulance responds to serious cases, such as heart attacks, while the second type of ambulance takes easier cases.”



We also asked Alexandra Tanase what is the protocol the ambulance crew follow when deciding where to take patients:



”We have radio communication with a centralised coordinator and, depending on the patient’s condition, we ask for guidance as to what hospital to take our patient. In other cases we take them to the nearest hospital. I once had a patient suffering decompensation, and instead of taking him to the hospital we were supposed to take him, we decided to take him to the nearest hospital, for his own safety. “



Alexandra tells us that while there is a large number of emergency calls, patients will have access to the services they need, even if they sometimes have to wait longer. But what can be improved when it comes to emergency medical response in the opinion of Alexandra Tanase:



“We need better equipment on ambulances, a larger number of ambulance vehicles and more staff on ambulances, an area where we clearly have a problem. I think we should also encourage ordinary people to become more involved, as it is very important how people witnessing an accident, for example, react as soon as the accident occurs. A programme is run at the moment in Romania entitled “There’s a hero in each of us”, making people aware that they can also help by doing the right thing in the early minutes after an accident occurs, because these are crucial minutes in a patient’s life”.



In terms of equipment, the medical emergency service has seen real improvement in recent years. The County Emergency Hospital in the northern town of Suceava, for example, will soon be provided with a new CT scanner funded by the Health Ministry and the County Council. In another example, the old ambulance car fleet from 2007 of the Braila County Ambulance Service has been renewed following the purchase of three new vehicles by the Health Ministry. Officials say the improvement of the emergency care system will continue.

(foto: Anqa / pixabay.com)
Society Today Wednesday, 23 October 2024

Access to contraceptive methods in post-communist Romania: 35 years on

Romanian society has a troublesome past regarding reproductive health. The country’s troubled past began in 1966. We recall that back then a decree...

Access to contraceptive methods in post-communist Romania: 35 years on
Photo: pixabay.com
Society Today Wednesday, 16 October 2024

New solutions for old problems: bullying

A study carried out by Save the Children at the beginning of the year showed that one in two students in Romania was a victim of threats, humiliation...

New solutions for old problems: bullying
Photo: pixabay.com
Society Today Wednesday, 02 October 2024

Romania must redefine itself economically

In 2022, the employed population of Romania was 7.6 million people. Of these, 5.5 million were employees with individual employment contracts. Most...

Romania must redefine itself economically
The Urban Bee Patrol
Society Today Wednesday, 25 September 2024

The Urban Bee Patrol

The concrete walls and trees groomed every season, are sometimes home to bees with honeycombs. Tens of thousands of bees find shelter in ventilation...

The Urban Bee Patrol
Society Today Wednesday, 18 September 2024

Romania’s new faces

Romania has been facing a workforce deficit for quite some time now, created by a negative birthrate, a dramatic ageing of the population and a...

Romania’s new faces
Society Today Wednesday, 11 September 2024

The Second Gender

Among all European countries, Romania has the lowest female employment rate. 45.4% of Romanian women have a job, compared to men, of whom 62.7% are...

The Second Gender
Society Today Wednesday, 04 September 2024

Support for Child Refugees from Ukraine

After more than two years since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the first waves of Ukrainian refugees who found Romania unprepared, but extremely...

Support for Child Refugees from Ukraine
Society Today Wednesday, 14 August 2024

Gift of Life Bucharest Hospital Finally Opens

The “Dăruiește Viață” (Give Life) hospital, in Bucharest, started functioning de facto in mid-April. 50 children have already been...

Gift of Life Bucharest Hospital Finally Opens

Partners

Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român
Liga Studentilor Romani din Strainatate - LSRS Liga Studentilor Romani din Strainatate - LSRS
Modernism | The Leading Romanian Art Magazine Online Modernism | The Leading Romanian Art Magazine Online
Institului European din România Institului European din România
Institutul Francez din România – Bucureşti Institutul Francez din România – Bucureşti
Muzeul Național de Artă al României Muzeul Național de Artă al României
Le petit Journal Le petit Journal
Radio Prague International Radio Prague International
Muzeul Național de Istorie a României Muzeul Național de Istorie a României
ARCUB ARCUB
Radio Canada International Radio Canada International
Muzeul Național al Satului „Dimitrie Gusti” Muzeul Național al Satului „Dimitrie Gusti”
SWI swissinfo.ch SWI swissinfo.ch
UBB Radio ONLINE UBB Radio ONLINE
Strona główna - English Section - polskieradio.pl Strona główna - English Section - polskieradio.pl
creart - Centrul de Creație Artă și Tradiție al Municipiului Bucuresti creart - Centrul de Creație Artă și Tradiție al Municipiului Bucuresti
italradio italradio
Institutul Confucius Institutul Confucius
BUCPRESS - știri din Cernăuți BUCPRESS - știri din Cernăuți

Affiliates

Euranet Plus Euranet Plus
AIB | the trade association for international broadcasters AIB | the trade association for international broadcasters
Digital Radio Mondiale Digital Radio Mondiale
News and current affairs from Germany and around the world News and current affairs from Germany and around the world
Comunità radiotelevisiva italofona Comunità radiotelevisiva italofona

Providers

RADIOCOM RADIOCOM
Zeno Media - The Everything Audio Company Zeno Media - The Everything Audio Company