The National Emergency Service marks today the 10th anniversary of its transformation from a degraded system that could not guarantee the receipt of emergency calls, into a modern, innovative service that is closer to the citizens, with thousands of successful life-saving missions carried out with dignity.
With 3.5 million calls handled and over 800,000 missions accomplished, the National Emergency Service is a story of transformation. The fleet of ambulances has tripled, and they are equipped with modern equipment, ensuring quick and safe interventions in every corner of the country.
Prime Minister Rama, along with the Minister of Health and Social Protection, Albana Koçiu, met today with the medical staff and leaders of the National Emergency Center, who recalled the journey of challenges and difficulties over these 10 years.
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Prime Minister Edi Rama:
Hello everyone, first of all, I want to express my admiration to all those who are to my left, from the second row and beyond. Of course, not forgetting the director, who is an extraordinary protagonist in a success story that speaks for itself from start to finish. I want to thank from the heart each and every one of the girls, boys, women, and men in uniform who are on a highly challenging front, and, to be honest, when you see the intensity of their daily activities, they deserve nothing but gratitude.
Thank you all very much!
I recall that when we started the restructuring of the Emergency Service, there was a very strange reaction and resistance, and in fact, time quickly proved that we were right to believe that that system could not function.
First of all, the National Emergency Service has now earned the full authority of facts, it has earned the authority of the great test of its weakness and its efficiency. We have no reason to not centralize the entire ambulance system, the entire system of teams on the ground, and the entire emergency coordination system under the National Emergency Service, no longer allowing hospitals and other structures to interfere, as they are an unnecessary link. This step is one that has come at the right time, and we will take it because, in many cases, these teams need each other.
These teams need each other, and of course, often each of the first three (ambulances, doctors, and rescue teams) needs medical emergency support from behind.
I will close with a real-life anecdote from the doctor who, at the beginning, when the Emergency Service received the uniforms, it has today, faced problems with citizens who called the emergency service. When they opened the door, they would see those in uniform and immediately close the door, saying, ‘We didn’t call private services, we called the state, because the state should appear as it was traditionally seen, in a shabby uniform.’ However, this appearance was not the one they were used to when seeing the state. And I believe this speaks to everything that has happened with the National Emergency Service.
It is truly one of the proudest achievements of the reforms we have made! It is a source of pride for how it has transformed into a success story, a story of dignity; it is a pride for how it has transformed in terms of human resources and how the experience of those who had the fortune to not retire without ever seeing how an ambulance operates from start to finish has been harmonized. At least when they go, the driver has emotions—the emotions of a once-in-a-lifetime experience—not the emotions of a vehicle breaking down on the road, unable to save someone, as we have had in the past. And it is a source of pride that today we have a National Emergency Service that is on par with those in other countries, though there are certainly things we can and will improve. We leave nothing to be desired in comparison to the emergency services of other countries.
So, with much respect, I will stop my speech where I began and would love for all the authorities in the front row, along with me, to give a special round of applause to all the men and women, the boys and girls of the emergency service.
Thank you so much, and honestly, much respect. Be proud of what you do every day, because from all of us here, you are the only ones who are certain that when you meet Saint Peter, your place is in paradise. The rest of us, I’m not so sure.
(Dr. Skënder Brataj, the head of the Emergency Service, gives Prime Minister Rama an emergency vest).
Prime Minister Edi Rama: I won’t promise that when I wear it, I’ll have an emergency, but I will wear it with pleasure. And I believe you will tolerate me wearing it just for the colors it has, though sometimes I might use it when I go to beat up the ministers in the government.”
