Eighty percent of the managers of hospitals in Romania should be replaced, and the hospitals should be coordinated by the ministry, health minister Nelu Tătaru told television station Digi24 in an interview.

“At the start of the pandemic, I said 80% of the managers should be replaced. I stand by that opinion,” Tătaru said, explaining that the Government, health ministers and political and local authorities of the past 30 years shaped the current state of the healthcare system.

“This is why the reform of the healthcare system means a radical change, both legislative and at the level of the hospital’s administration. The Health Ministry should coordinate these hospitals,” he said.

Most public hospitals are currently under the administration of the local authorities. Prime minister Ludovic Orban recently announced an analysis would be carried out on the topic of placing the hospitals under the coordination of the Health Ministry. He said the decision to put the hospitals under the local authorities' coordination was not a wrong one. Still, the issue was the poor performance of the managers in several counties, News.ro reported.

In another interview at Realitatea Plus, Tătaru said one of the reasons preventing Romanian doctors practicing abroad from returning to the country was that hospitals did not ensure the safety of the medical act.

“Hospitals do not ensure the safety of the medical act and do not ensure the safety of the patients. Let’s let them carry on with their work safely, provide them with a place where they can work to the best of their abilities. We need to pay them according to their training and performance; of course, I would want them to come back,” he said. 

He went on to explain that if the doctors would be paid unsatisfactorily and will not have the right conditions to practice, they will not return to the country.

Tătaru also said he contacted the embassies of EU countries and the communities of Romanian doctors working abroad to ask for help in the coronavirus crisis.

Three days ago, ten coronavirus patients died in a fire that destroyed the intensive care unit of the Piatra Neamț County Hospital where they were admitted. A doctor who rushed to save the patients suffered severe burns and was transferred to Belgium for treatment. The hospital’s manager resigned yesterday, November 16. The Government also decided to check all the intensive care units in the country to see if all safety measures were being followed. 

New tragedy in Romania: Ten dead and seven injured after fire at COVID-19 section in local hospital

(Photo: Gov.ro)

editor@romania-insider.com