The Botoșani County Hospital, one of the largest in Moldova, is facing an unprecedented staffing crisis. The most affected department is that of radiology, where there is a risk of only two people remaining with 1,500 presentations per day. The implications can be particularly serious.
County Emergency Hospital “Mavromati” Botoșani PHOTO The truth
“Mavromati” Botoșani County Emergency Hospital is one of the largest health facilities in Romania with over 1538 beds, with 47 wards in 11 locations. At the same time, it is one of the hospitals with the greatest addressability, considering that the health network in the county is precarious, with a deep crisis of family doctors, and most patients often end up directly in the Emergency Reception Unit. In these conditions, for several years, the county hospital in Botoșani has been facing a constant crisis of doctors in various specializations, but especially at the subordinate hospitals in the county. In addition, there is a shortage of doctors at the Emergency Department. The situation has recently become critical in Radiology, an essential department for the hospital’s activity, but especially for patients. It is the place where x-rays, CTs, MRIs and everything related to the imaging needed to diagnose patients are done. The situation is so serious that the hospital is in danger of collapsing. The issue of requesting support from the Ministry of Health was raised.
1500 patients daily, with only three radiologists
With a wave of patients daily, especially in the Emergency Department, the Radiology service of the County Hospital is essential. With the help of the results obtained from either CT, MRI or ultrasound, patients can be correctly diagnosed and treated, or in many cases their lives can be saved. However, the situation is critical. Radiology should have 12 employees to function normally. Currently, it has only three. They have to deal with a wave of 1,500 patients daily. One of them wants to resign, because he is afraid of malpractice, under the existing conditions. In other words, only two radiologists will remain, and the hospital is at risk of collapse. There are hallucinatory situations in which doctors do the interpretations at home. “There are no radiologists to interpret X-rays, ultrasounds, CT scans. There are more difficult situations in which the interpretation is done by the doctor at home”, says Ramona Guraliuc, UPU Botoșani chief physician. The spokesperson of the hospital specified that the activity in Radiology is done only in one shift, and doctors from other hospitals are also called to ensure the guard. In addition, many patients prefer to go private rather than wait.
The hospital that closed when the doctor went on vacation
The situation is also serious in the outer wards of the County Hospital. For example, in Darabani, the northernmost city in Romania, the hospital closed after the only employed doctor took a two-week vacation. There is a crisis of doctors in many departments of the hospital. In Pediatrics, for example, several experienced doctors have decided to retire, but it is difficult to find other specialists in their place. Hospital representatives ended up asking the Directorate of Public Health and the Ministry of Health for help, especially regarding the radiology crisis. In the outpatient setting, imaging investigations are scheduled. The situation is so dramatic that there is a risk that some patients will already be dead by the time their turn comes.
Young doctors do not want to come to the north of Moldova
The situation has been known for several years. Since last year, things were taking a dramatic turn in the radiology department. It is estimated that the hospital needs only a little less than 1000 employees to carry out a qualitative medical act. Employment contests were organized, including radiology, but no one showed up. “We put two doctor positions out to competition at the beginning of the year. We recently put four doctor positions out to competition. ”, says Ștefan Bercea, the medical director of the hospital. Although massive investments have been made in buildings and equipment, the hospital in Botoșani remains unattractive for young doctors. On the one hand, it is the distance and the bad roads to Botoșani. For others, the lack of perspective in the small towns of the county, where they have nowhere to spend their free time and neither the desired infrastructure for raising children. There are quite a few situations in which the partner of the employed doctor cannot find work or cannot transfer to a similar or equally well-paid position, and this in the conditions where the residents come from large university cities. Many prefer to stay in university centers or go abroad.
