The Health Centre of Kamez has been completely reconstructed, extended and equipped with new biomedical appliances. From a totally ruined centre with humidity and outdated equipment, today it has become one of the exemplary centres of primary care in the country. Accompanied by Health Minister Ogerta Manastirliu, Prime Minister Edi Rama visited the centre today and met with its medical staff.
Equipped with modern technology, the centre provides emergency service 24/7 to the 100.000 residents of the area, who were previously forced to go to hospitals to do a check, while now they can now do it here since they have available all the necessary equipment. Minister Manastirliu said that the centre provides inter alia consultation for women and infants. “This health centre provides service to 100.000 residents of the Kamza municipality. On the other hand, we have a 24-hour emergency service, which is very important because patients don’t have to go to the hospital or other centres, but can be treated here where they can have access to 24/7. Also, there are all the specialty cabinets, the clinic for women and infants, for the child vaccination, all relevant cabinets with 10 specialists.”
The director of the centre said the new technology enables examinations that could not be performed here before. “It’s an investment of the Albanian government. Compared to other devices that were only with cobalt, this is the best and most valuable thing for patients.”
The medical staff that has been working there for years, says that the conditions are totally different. “When I came here in 2002, it was a total disaster. Such conditions could not be found even in the most remote villages of Kukes”, the radiologist of the centre said. “Everything has changed. The working conditions were terrible”, another employee referred.
2700 analyses are made per month at the Health Centre of Kamez, with the prospect to expand to a new spectrum of examinations after the installation of the new equipment. “Now we can do here a complete blood test with 18 indicators, which could not be done before. This centre has reached 2700 analyses per month. I believe that with the addition of other devices, this number will increase even more”, one doctor says.
Prime Minister Edi Rama said that increasing the range and quality of service in health centres will reduce the flow of citizens who require basic services at major hospitals. The prime minister also said that such centres are expected to be reconstructed all over the country in 2018 and will be funded with a special fund as a priority of investments and health reform.
“Before the reconstruction began, it was terrible for all the residents here. Of course, the focus was in the main hospitals, but the more we extend this network, the more we reduce the great pressure on the central hospital and on the other 2-3 hospitals, and we also create a system for addressing the concerns or emergencies according to the degree of need. There’s no need for everybody to rush into the hospital at the centre in order to have the basic service which they can receive here. The plan is to rebuild 300 centres in 4 years, starting from 2018, when we want to rebuild with these standards the first 80-90 centres, and at the same time create the conditions to provide a 24/7 emergency service, both in these centres and in those that are today municipal hospitals, which cannot be self-funded.”
To the Prime Minister’s interest in terms of the comfort offered by the new working conditions, employees responded that this is reflected also in the citizens who are quite satisfied with the changes that have been made. “I’ve been working here for more than 30 years, and we’re pretty happy. People can tell the change as soon as they enter the centre”, one of the doctors said.
