Contact:
Carmiola Ionescu
Phone: + 43 - 1 - 811 40 - 319
E-Mail: editor@newsfox.com
| Pressbox | 
|
Bucharest (pte021/04.04.2003/11:26) - Hospital suppliers in Romania have accused the government of "incompetence" after it failed to come up with a way for them to reclaim unpaid debts other than to suggest taking legal action through the courts.
The suppliers are already planning to take one of the largest hospitals in Romania, the Fundeni hospital http://www.icfundeni.ro in Bucharest, to court over an alleged four million pound debt in what will be the first case of its kind in the country.
But Ion Ciceala, head of the Association of Medical Products' Providers which is an umbrella association representing 45 companies supplying medical products, said suing hospitals was not the answer.
He told Reuters Health that while suppliers desperate to recoup their losses would take the advice the government had offered, it was also a sign that ministers were effectively washing their hands of the current health care crisis. He said: "We had several meetings with Health Minister Daniela Bartos. All she did was to shrug her shoulders and advise us to take our debtors to court. We will follow the advice, although we strongly believe that it is proof of incompetence."
He added that the end result of the court action would probably be a closure of the hospital for a number of months as managers tried to save money, forcing people in the area to travel to another hospital for treatment - and failing to bring a solution to the issue of hospital debts any closer.
He said: "Fundeni is going to be an example of what can happen if we follow this irresponsible advice. Something tells me the court will decide to lock up the hospital so the liquidators can do their job and subsequently for us to decide what to take from it to get our money back. This shows that the state is indifferent and cynical. It is acting barbarically towards the country's citizens."
Medicine and medical equipment suppliers have been withholding their services since February over hospital debts they claim have reached 9,195 billion lei (177 million pounds).
The move has left chaos at some hospitals with supplies of some medicines already exhausted and other hospitals without basics such as bandages, syringes or disinfectants.
Some local media in Romania have even reported that doctors have been walking the streets appealing for donations to pay for food to feed patients, and to restock medicine cabinets.
Ciceala claimed the government could solve the problem of hospital debts with an immediate release of money from a special government fund earmarked solely for the health sector.
He said: "There is 15,000 billion lei in the treasury for any crisis in the health system. Everything is up to the government. They can issue an emergency order and solve the crisis in a day."
Doctors have also attacked the government over the crisis. The Doctors Alliance, one of the country's biggest doctors' unions, is planning to hold a series of marches beginning on April 6th in protest at what they also claimed was the government's "incompetence".
Ruxandra Predescu, spokeswoman for the Alliance, told Reuters Health: "The Health Ministry has blamed doctors, hospital directors and medicine suppliers for the current situation. The only people they haven't blamed yet are the patients for having the cheek to get ill and ask for treatment.
"The Health Ministry has proved itself incompetent. That can be seen from the prolonged disaster in the system."
When contacted by Reuters Health the Romanian Health Ministry http://www.ms.ro declined to comment on the subject of hospital debts.
(end)
|
|
