The salaries of doctors and medical personnel working in Romania’s public healthcare system will increase by over 70% starting March 1 this year, health minister Sorina Pintea announced on Thursday.

Some salaries will reach over EUR 4,000, she added. Starting March, the medical personnel will thus have the salaries they should have reached in 2022, according to the public payroll law adopted last year.

The growth rates will be between 70% and 172%. For example, a nurse will reach a net salary of RON 2,586 (EUR 556), without any bonuses, while a nurse with higher education will reach RON 3,000 (EUR 645). A primary care physician, who had a salary of RON 3,900 in 2017 and RON 4,100 in January this year, will reach a net wage of RON 9,106 (EUR 1,960) in March. This sum doesn’t include the bonuses for emergency service and extra hours, which can double the amount a doctor makes in a month.

Resident doctors’ gross salaries will also increase by 151% to 287%, depending on the specialty. A first-year resident, who currently has a gross salary of RON 1,985, will reach a gross wage of RON 5,700 (EUR 1,225).

Pharmacists will get lower wage increases while some directors in the Health Ministry will see lower wages starting March 1. Family doctors will also get some wage increases, but not as high as the medical personnel in hospitals, as they are not employees but are paid by health insurance houses based on service contracts.

The base fee for family medicine services will increase by about 21% with the new framework contract to be signed on April 1, the health minister said.

editor@romania-insider.com