The new maternity hospital, a long-awaited facility in the past 30 years, is another important investment in the health care system adding to a wide range of recent projects designed to significantly improve quality of health care services to citizens, as well as provide modern amenities and working conditions for health professionals. Prime Minister Edi Rama, accompanied by the Minister of Health and Social Protection Ogerta Manastirliu, inspected the ongoing works to construct the new maternity hospital expected to complete next spring.
“The new maternity project is a government investment with a capacity of 55 beds, two operating rooms and two delivery rooms. Utmost efforts have been made to speed up the construction work and the new maternity project is set to complete by April,” Health Minister Manastirliu said.
The five-storey maternity unit will cover a construction area of over 3000 square meters. “The hospital rooms are equipped with modern amenities and equipment, signalling and monitoring system connected with the control room,” the Maternity Hospital director said highlighting some standards that PM Rama described as best and highest European standards from A to Z.
The investment is designed not only to improve quality of maternal and newborn care, but also boost health capacities, taking notice of the fact that Lezha maternity hospital also serves local residents in Laç, Mirdite, and Burrel. Albanian government has supported investments in construction of three regional maternity hospitals in Lezhe, Kukes and Berat in the past two years. The government of Albania has announced a 40% pay hike for doctors, nurses and all health professionals starting next January.
“On January 1, the salaries of doctors and all health workers will increase by 40%. I believe this is a significant pay rise close to the region’s average salary. It is understandable that the salaries will be increased according to the assignment of each physician and the categories with current higher salary will certainly benefit a higher increase, plus the special bonus for every doctor working in regional hospitals in cities other than their hometown. You are on the frontline of the mudslinging campaign initiated by every sort of individuals, but I have noticed that all those making allegations against doctors, claiming that they deliver no care if you don’t bribe them, those people actually have never visited a doctor and have never been hospitalized. This is a fact and it is either they recall the situation previously prevailing in our hospitals or they have never visited a hospital and instead resort to making unfounded allegations. In these difficult times we are being through, we would have been hopeless if it was not for the doctors and nurses, very good ones for the sake of truth and they have become really good ones due to the fact that they have been forced to work in difficult conditions and this has made them emerge stronger in every aspect. Of course, with the equipment and modern amenities now available, the delivery of health care has certainly improved now,” PM Rama noted.
Strengthening the regional hospitals, as part of which is also the construction of the new maternity building in Lezhe, aims at creating conditions for the complete treatment of the patients according to the standards of the best medical practice.
