Gov't passes decision establishing myocardial infarction, stroke diagnostic, treatment centres

A government decision approving over 230 centres for diagnosis and treatment of myocardial infarction and cerebrovascular accidents was approved at a government meeting on Thursday, according to Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca, Agerpres reports.

"It is time to move on from analysis and planning to concrete action. Today, at the government meeting, we approved a government decision establishing the diagnostic and treatment centres at the hospital level throughout the country. We also have some figures: the health minister has estimated them to be over 230. All these centres will hopefully become operational as soon as possible, and depending on the involvement of the relevant players they will be as effective as possible. This is part of a raft of measures at the level of the Ministry of Health that will allow us to increase our COVID-19 treatment resources and, at the same time, carry out this activity of focusing our attention on the treatment of patients suffering, unfortunately, from other disorders," Ciuca said on Thursday at the start of a meeting with healthcare specialists at myocardial infarction centres and stroke centres.

He said that the centres would initially be set up at a regional level and then expanded nationally.

"What we designed today is treating myocardial infarction and stroke. Statistics are not at all encouraging: Romania ranks last in terms of the ability to treat myocardial infarction and stroke. (...) There is a myocardial infarction programme, but it is under-represented locally. As far as I know from [health] minister Rafila, the technical support is in place and also the necessary human resources, which, with a few elements of specific training, may be able to take over these cases, and let's start a matching programme for treating strokes. I believe in the Ministry of Health's power to mobilise and find the necessary solutions to cover the entire country evenly. The solutions will be regional initially, and then we will proceed with their extension to as many locations as possible," added Ciuca.