HealthMin Tataru: Health Law, must be updated as it is outdated

Health units must remain under the coordination of the Ministry of Health and it is necessary to update the Health Law, as it is "outdated," Minister of Health Nelu Tataru said on Thursday, in the context in which the report on "Sfantul Ioan cel Nou" Suceava County Emergency Hospital showed that several deficiencies were detected, one of them aimed at planning the respons and protection against the COVID-19 health crisis.

"What happened in Suceava must be a lesson for all of us. After lifting the state of emergency, we will have a lot of work to reorganize and streamline the health system. I believe that, for another period, health units must remain under the coordination of the ministry. There is also a need to update the Health Law, because the current variant is outdated," Tataru said, according to a press release sent to AGERPRES.

A military team led by Major General in reserve Ionel Oprea, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Health, took over the management of the Suceava County Emergency Hospital, between April 2 and 30.

The Secretary of State sent a report to the Minister of Health after the end of the mission, which shows that several deficiencies were detected in the response planning and protection against the COVID-19 health crisis, as well as in alerting and training medical teams.

According to the report, the management of the institution "was no longer efficient", the Medical Council not being officially convened since February, the functional structure of the hospital was "reduced", the sectors in which COVID-19 patients were hospitalized, Emergency Unit operated at low capacity because of "minimal" staffing - about 15%, and the protection of staff, with the exception of some people from the Emergency Unit, the Infectious Diseases Sector and the Internal Diseases Sector - COVID-19, was "inadequate, improper, improvised."

The document also reveals that the management of the risk of infection outside the hospital was not ensured, and the testing capacity was reduced and "failed to cover" the need for investigation in a timely manner.

According to the Ministry of Health, during the mission, the team led by the Secretary of State took measures regarding the individual protection of the personnel, the establishment of specific functional routes, the institutionalized quarantine of the healthy personnel, the control of the observance of the individual protection norms and the functional routes by the hospital employees.

Also, a phased plan for the gradual operationalization of the Suceava County Emergency Hospital was drafted in order to reach the maximum response capacity, and procedures, protocols and practice guidelines were developed, approved and implemented - in the diagnosis, treatment and care of COVID-19 patients and the entire medical staff was tested. At the same time, the SARS-CoV-2 testing capacity of the unit was increased.