Raed Arafat: SMURD centers in pioneer-counties, a problem that can be solved through a national system

The head of the Department for Emergency Situations, Dr. Raed Arafat, declared in an interview with AGERPRES that the problems that the five SMURD (Emergency Mobile Resuscitation and Extrication Service) centers are facing, that can no longer be financially supported, as a result of the wage increase in the local administration, can be fixed, through an organized national system, that belongs to the state, and not to the local authority.

"This is about the five counties, that were pioneer-counties in creating first-aid crews: Mures, Sibiu, Hunedoara, Arad and Iasi, which before the Law 95/2006 came into effect, they already had first aid teams, created with the help of the local authorities and in collaboration with the Department for Emergency Situations (DSU), and when the law appeared we created a legal framework through which we can finance, via the state budget, the ambulances, the supplies and the repairing, and they would finance - in collaboration with the territorial administration units (UAT) around them - the staff, that was around 12 people per center. It's not the first time we are facing this situation, when a mayor comes and wants to disband a crew. Actually, we learned a very important lesson, that it's much better the way we have our system organized: a national system, that belongs to the state, rather then a fragmented system that would belong to local authorities. Because, unfortunately, it's very difficult to ensure a unitary vision and a strong system, all well into place, standardized, inter-operable, when you give to each local authority a local task on the emergency system," Arafat said.

"We have to find a solution. We need to settle with the Finances (Ministry, ed. n.) and with everyone and say: "In the interest of those at least 300,000 people, maybe even nearly half a million people - each team needs to serve at least 10,000 people in their area of intervention - if we let these crews to stop, this means that we are leaving those people with no health care cover, that they would need to wait for an ambulance coming from further away, lots of headache with that. The staff needs to be taken over and kept. The solution is to ensure financing from either the City hall, or - the most stable and secure solution - take them over, and introduce them in the official system, of the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (IGSU) and the military SMURD," Arafat added.