Doctor Rafila: First thing in managing pandemic is to ensure patients' access to outpatient services

Alexandru Rafila, proposed by PSD (Social Democratic Party) to be the next Minister of Health, said that in managing the COVID pandemic and preparing for a fifth pandemic wave, it is necessary, as important solutions, to ensure "early access of patients to outpatient services" and "to encourage all people who test positive to see a doctor from the first days."

He was asked what measures should be taken, given that the 5th wave of the COVID 19 pandemic could hit Romania very quickly, according to experts, agerpres reports.

"The first thing that should be done would be to ensure early access of patients to outpatient services and encourage all people to see a doctor in the first days after they are confirmed to be positive, because these complicated cases and the large number of deaths have been caused, and this is one of the conclusions of the World Health Organization's report, by the late presentation to the doctor, usually in emergency rooms, of patients who have developed complicated forms, and this late presentation has obviously led to an increase in the number of deaths and the overcrowding of intensive care units," Rafila said on Tuesday at the Ministry of Health.

He also underscored that testing among the population should also be encouraged, on a larger scale, when asked about the decrease in the number of tests in the last period.