The Government is assessing the implementation of two measures that could stop doctors from quitting their jobs as dozens have resigned in recent days over the lack of appropriate equipment and protective gear needed when treating Covid-19 patients.

One of the measures would be withdrawing their right to practice medicine, while the other would entail expanding their notice period, Mediafax reported. The first measure is not favored by the PM.

“We will choose an option. We first need to consult with the Health Ministry. Personally I wouldn’t go for the extreme measure of withdrawing their right to practice in Romania. I would give them the right to think it over, meaning I would extend the notice period, because this is possible during the state of emergency, through a derogation from the Labor Code,” PM Ludovic Orban said, quoted by Mediafax.

In recent days, hospitals across the country were faced with resignations of doctors and nurses, who say they cannot treat Covid-19 patients without receiving the appropriate protective gear. In Brăila, three doctors working in the emergency and intensive care units resigned, Mediafax reported. Also, several doctors working at the Mioveni Hospital, the newest public hospital in the country, resigned, but the unit’s manager did not accept them.

In Arad, eight doctors working at the Arad County Hospitals resigned and decided to retire, while 80 other health workers took a medical leave, Ziare.com reported. Several nurses working at the CFR Hospital in Timișoara resigned after it was decided that the hospital will treat Covid-19 cases and take over the coronavirus cases that the Victor Babes Hospital in Bucharest cannot handle.

More recently, the new management of the Suceava County Hospital resigned on Wednesday evening, April 1. The County Hospital in Suceava has become the biggest Covid-19 hotspot in Romania after several patients brought the virus to the hospital and infected dozens of doctors and nurses. 

(Photo: Gov.ro)

editor@romania-insider.com