Healthcare, a priority of the Cioloş Government
The Romanian PM Dacian Cioloş has assigned the Control Body to start an investigation into the decision of the committee that establishes the tender book and the criteria for disinfectants used in hospitals.
România Internațional, 06.05.2016, 13:36
The Romanian PM Dacian Cioloş believes that amendments are needed to the healthcare law because the current legislation frequently prevents the authorities from finalizing various projects. The PM also identified legislative problems related to the hospital managers’ responsibility. The government intends to use the next 6 months to take structural measures, even if they cannot reform the healthcare system, but at least they will reveal the flaws in the system. Previously, the government spokesman, Dan Suciu, had announced that healthcare would become the top priority of the Cioloş Government.
On short term, the PM decided to send the Control Body to investigate the decisions of the Biocide Committee within the Health Ministry, a committee that establishes the tender books and the criteria for disinfectants used in hospitals. The results of the investigation, if negative, will be forwarded to the Prosecutor’s Office, that has already signaled a number of problems in the system that will be used in the investigation, Dan Suciu added. He added that the Government was preparing a decision by means of which to allot funds for the urgent accreditation of a lab at the ICECHIM Chemistry Institute.
Dan Suciu: “We want to find out if all criteria were observed as well as all the standards for the accredited disinfection procedures. The government wants to urgently allot funds for the accreditation of the ICECHIM lab. It is unacceptable not to have certification in terms of hospital tests”.
Dan Suciu also said that the PM Cioloş called on the Health Minister, Patriciu Achimaş-Cadariu, to speed up the implementation of the measures against in-hospital infections, measures announced last week. According to Dan Suciu Romania has an old hospital infrastructure and new medical units should be built. The Government intends to start a deep reform of the health infrastructure, and to this end, several feasibility studies have been completed for the construction of two new hospitals — one for children and one for cardio-vascular diseases.
The authorities will also accelerate the European-funded projects for the construction of 3 regional hospitals in Craiova (in the south), Iasi (northeast) and Cluj (northwest). Dan Suciu added that they should rethink the way in which the management contracts in public hospitals are observed and the way in which hospitals are subordinated to central and local authorities. He also believes that all the measures announced by the Government could boost people’s confidence in the healthcare system. The PM thinks the reform of the healthcare system is slow also because of the political system, given that in the past 6-7 years Romania has had 10 different healthcare ministers.