Following some important investments, the Hospital of Vlore provides now not only to the residents of this city, but also to visitors and vacationers, a thoroughly re-organized emergency service in terms of equipment and human resources.
Everything was made possible thanks to the project “Improving emergency services in the coastal area”. In addition to the hospital of Vlore, investments for this service have been made also in the hospitals of Shkodra, Lezha, Durres and Saranda. The project is implemented by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Region of Tuscany (Italy), in view of the Italian-Albanian Debt for Development Swap Programme (IADSA). The program has provided approximately 320 thousand Euros in medical equipment, modern technology and modern lifesaving equipment in 5 hospital emergencies.
The project provides also training courses organized by experts from the Region of Tuscany to the staff of the Emergency Medical Service in the 5 hospitals in the coastal zone, with an aim at increasing their professionally.
The emergency service, which until last year had a reduced equipment and hosting capacity, has today 127 ambulances nationwide, compared to 70 it had before, as well as 500 newly employed staff. The government is expected to approve soon an increase by 25% compared to current salaries of the medical staff.
25 Health Centres provide medical services during the summer season in tourist areas. Approximately 45 thousand people received immediate medical service during the last tourist season.
Accompanied by Minister Beqaj, Italian Ambassador Alberto Cutillo and local MPs, Prime Minister Edi Rama was today in the hospital of Vlora to look closely at the investment. Health Minister Beqaj said that the project for the 5 coastal hospitals is part of the objective to significantly improve and strengthen medical emergency, and to support even better the progress of the tourist season, mainly during summer. “This project is part of our objective to significantly improve and enhance medical emergency, and through this component focused on the coastline we want to support even more the performance of the tourist season”, Minister Beqaj said.
He noted among other things that the investment made in equipment and the training of human resources has significantly reformed the organisation and the reception in medical emergencies. “Today’s program has provided approximately 320 thousand medical equipment in the 5 hospital emergencies, in addition to providing training to the medical staff.”
According to the Italian ambassador Cutillo, cooperation in the field of medicine is a very important priority. “It is an absolute priority for us to cooperate in this field. I am happy that the Debt for Development Swap Programme has contributed to the modernization of these 5 hospitals to create an emergency service closer to people’s needs”, he said.
Deeming the project as very important in the wake of the program for the recovery of the entire healthcare system, the Prime Minister expressed confidence that thanks to the reforms made so far the emergency service will not be problematic anymore. The Prime Minister said also that modernization of the systems is essential in order to increase their reliability and to significantly decrease the phenomenon of corruption.
“The centrality of the command and coordination system of the emergency at a national level, the rational redistribution of means and the ongoing staff training will enable us to deepen changes, so that the emergency service in Albania will no longer be the big problem it has been so far. We will have a national emergency service that will operate through a system coordinated by an electronic brain in the centre. Investments for the implementation of this reform in 5 regional hospitals of the coastal zone to improve and strengthen the emergency system lead us to the right direction. An efficient and reliable emergency service will drastically reduce the number of people flowing to the doors of hospitals with their tools, thus creating a very difficult situation for the hospital management. It is essential that we modernize our systems in order to increase reliability and significantly reduce the phenomenon of corruption. The decision to increase the salaries of medical staff will come into force in March, because we believe that these people fully deserve to be supported morally and financially in order to do more. Just as we believe that it is imperative that anyone wearing the white apron sullies its image should leave this organism.”
