Report: Understaffed public hospitals in Romania failed to advertise jobs
Salaries of medical staff in Romania have tripled compared to 2014. Still, the shortage of personnel in the system persists, according to a report by the Court of Accounts issued following an audit of public hospitals under the Ministry of Health, as 83% of vacant positions in ministry-owned hospitals were not advertised between 2014 and 2021.
The situation of the 58 hospitals under the Ministry of Health was analyzed by auditors from the Court of Accounts in 2022 as part of a mission to audit the performance of human resources management and infrastructure development in hospital healthcare units from 2014 to 2021.
"With regard to human resources management, the report shows how medical staff salaries have increased on average three times compared to the 2014 reporting year. However, the average job occupancy rate for medical positions was 72%, and 80% for nursing positions. On average, 83% of vacant positions in the healthcare system during the analyzed period were not advertised,” the report says, cited by News.ro.
The top 10 medical specialties with the highest shortage of doctors include anesthesia and intensive care, psychiatry, cardiology, medical imaging, general surgery, rehabilitation, physical medicine and balneology, emergency medicine, laboratory medicine, internal medicine, and gastroenterology, according to the audit.
Auditors propose a series of solutions so the Ministry of Health can address the issues related to personnel in the system. One of these refers to the establishment of an integrated and up-to-date database that reflects the number of vacant positions for doctors by specialty and includes the situation of residents.
"This database should reflect the number of resident doctors who have completed their residency training and have returned / not returned to the position for which they applied in the residency competition," the Court of Auditors says.
The public auditors also recommend "identifying and implementing methods to stimulate resident doctors, in collaboration with ministries that have their own network of healthcare units, local authorities, and specialty universities, so that after completing their training they can continue their activity in the hospitals where they are employed."
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