The healthcare centre No. 1 in Tirana has been totally transformed, with its convenient and modern facilities designed to provide 24-hour decent care to citizens. The reconstruction project, part of the government’s ambitious program to rehabilitate and construct 300 healthcare centres all over the country, transformed the medical centre to meet European and top quality primary healthcare standards.
Prime Minister Edi Rama, accompanied by the Minister of Health Oferta Manastirliu, visited the rejuvenated premises of the health care centre that delivers services to more than 100.000 residents. The work to rehabilitate the healthcare centres continues consistently despite the pandemic. According to Health Minister Manastirliu, a total of 52 health care centres have been already rehabilitated in Tirana alone.
The head of the medical centre noted that a 100 health care staff used to work for over 20 years in a floor area of 400 square meters only. “Over the years, we have constantly filed request upon request so that proper spaces for decent care delivery are built and it is a dream that come true after 20 years,” she said.
The newly-rejuvenated centre, like many other medical centres, has played a key and essential role in treating COVID-19 patients. “Family doctors were fully committed since the very beginning of the pandemic and they have helped to trace and diagnose the suspected coronavirus cases, as well as to provide the drug reimbursement package for at home treatment of the COVID-19 patients. Health care staff at this medical centre has diagnosed and treated more than 4700 suspected and confirmed COVID-19 cases. With the community-based testing process approved, local residents in the administrative units No. 1 and 2 undergo tests for the coronavirus at our centre at Students City area. This helps a lot the citizens who show all the symptoms to undergo rapid testing and receive care from the family doctors. Excellent work is being done and the family doctors have an essential role to play in management of the cases and prevent hospitalization. At-home treatment provided by the health care clinicians is worth mentioning, “ Health Minister Manastirliu said.
Prime Minister Edi Rama, while meeting some of the residents who were receiving care at the medical centre, engaged in a brief conversation with them and the healthcare professionals on the health situation and the latest developments in this sector.
“I am grateful to every doctor and nurse, especially to those who still work in the conditions similar to the ones you used to work not long time ago and amid this so complex and difficult situation. I am very sorry for the incident involving a cleaning woman, who actually tarnished the image, reputation and the extraordinary efforts of the doctors and nurses. It also induces the wrong perception suggesting this is the way how all these people work. Really, the only thing I liked and encouraged me about that incident was the effort made by the investigative reporters, because they have unmasked a mischievous person, but throughout their investigation they have failed to discover that the cleaning woman was collaborating even with a single doctor and whether this was a functioning chain. This should be an alarm bell for everyone and primarily for people in need who should not resort to such ways because we are all available and ready to deliver care to everyone. You all know that such individuals, including doctors, could still be part of the health system, yet it cannot undo the whole sacrifice and the doctors’ heroism amid the pandemic in particular, when a number of your colleagues have lost their lives. Healthcare workers are actually highly exposed and most at risk of contracting COVID-19, but they haven’t denied treatment to anyone. Quite the contrary, they risk their own lives on daily basis, despite the medical protective equipment. I am convinced that with all these changes already taking place in terms of infrastructure, in terms of salaries, more improvements will become a reality as we won’t stop here. We are currently discussing way to take the health care system to a new phase in order to allow health care structures exert more administrative independence, to provide all those who work harder become eligible to bonuses for their performance. I mean, a doctor who performs 100 check-ups and another who performs only 20 should not be paid equally. Taking notice of Turkey’s dramatic transition from a phase quite similar to our health system vis-à-vis the population in terms of supply and demand, as well as the bribery problems have been all addressed through the system by strengthening the medical personnel and by strengthening the system’s autonomy, I am confident that this experience and thanks to the work of a joint working group we have established we will take our accomplishments to a whole new and consolidated level. A considerable number of the medical centres have been all renovated, but there are many others that need to be rehabilitated,” the Premier said.
