Prime Minister Edi Rama, accompanied by the Minister of Health and Social Protection Ogerta Manastirliu, today inspected the six-storey building housing the Internal Medicine Department at the Hospital Center “Mother Teresa” in Tirana, which suffered minor wall damages due to the devastating earthquake that hit Albania on November 26.

Health Minister Manastirliu informed the government head that the building has not sustained structural damages and some failures and cracks have been identified mainly on the walls of the old buildings constructed in mid-50s and which have not been refurbished since then. The work to repair damages kicked off right away to make sure that building is fully operational with this month before all care services provided there are transferred to the new internal diseases hospital.

“The building has not sustained serious damages, but some small cracks on the walls and in plaster. We had to act immediately to repair cracks mainly in plaster that has crumbled due to tremors. The building’s structure remains intact. The new buildings have suffered no damages, and the only one to suffer some damages are the old buildings that have not been reconstructed for years now,” Health Minister said, highlighting the fact that patients hospitalized in the affected buildings have been moved to other wards or other hospital premises.

Prime Minister Edi Rama said that the Rebuilding Programme will also include hospitals and health care centres and work is underway to reach an agreement with a renowned Turkish company to this end.

“We are already negotiating and hopefully we will succeed with an internationally certified Turkish company, which has recently expanded its activity to the United States market. I am confident we will reach a super agreement on building earthquake-proof and eco-friendly houses. I have asked the company to offer a bid for building health care centres too, as such structures are super and are built at a low cost. They build schools too. Therefore, we are working with them and I am confident the cooperation with them will be a success story,” PM Rama said.

As far as the health infrastructure is concerned, the regional hospital in the town of Laç is one of the worst-hit facilities by the November quake. Health Minister said that experts have affirmed that the hospital building has sustained serious damages and therefore patients and care services have been temporarily transferred to the regional hospital in Lezha.