The Minister of Health, Alexandru Rogobete, sent a firm warning to the employees of the Anesthesia and Intensive Care (ATI) wards, asking them to give up jewelry, wedding rings and false nails, as they can represent sources of transmission of bacteria to patients. His decision sparked outrage and staff launched a social media campaign titled “We are not giving up the wedding ring”.
PHOTO: Facebook
“I’ll give you a banal example and I’ll also make a semi-funny parenthesis. It’s not really funny, but it’s in that direction. Fake nails and jewelry in ATI. According to the current legislation in Romania, ATI staff are not allowed to wear jewelry, wedding rings or fake nails. I said this publicly. Of course, they started all kinds of checks. An interesting grouping in the social media area also started, which is obviously against me and which it’s called “We don’t give up the wedding ring”. I say firmly: “Give up the wedding ring or leave ATI!”. Because that wedding ring can kill a man, because it is a source of storage and transmission.” Rogobete said.
The minister also requested reports on nosocomial infections and taking urgent measures to limit them.
“In Germany, twice as many nosocomial infections are reported as in Romania. It doesn’t mean that they don’t exist in Romania, or that we are better. It means that we don’t report them. I encourage everyone (doctors – no) and I say it now. Report nosocomial infections. When an infection occurs in an intensive care unit, report it and take action! What does action mean? It means that you have isolated the patient. It means that you have blocked admission. Stop admitting new patients. It means that you respect a disinfection process, if you like, more accelerated, more powerful”the minister added.
Alexandru Rogobete emphasized that the main problem in Romania is not the lack of investments, but the non-compliance with existing protocols.
“Look how it is with these nosocomial infections… for 20 years they have been discussed. Everyone notices: we have nosocomial infections, we don’t report them, or we don’t report them enough, or we hide them. I think the time has come to act proactively to control them and to limit them. Nowhere in the world are there hospitals where there is surgical activity – ATI, operating theater – where there are no infections associated with medical activity. Important Important is to monitor them. It is important to detect them in time. And here, massive investments were made in 119 hospitals in Romania with money from the PNRR, where the microbiology laboratories were developed and expanded precisely to be able to detect the pathogenic germ in a timely manner. Our problem is different. The problem is that the protocols are not followed. Of course, they need to be improved,” concluded Rogobete.
