A draft law was submitted on Thursday, June 25, to amend Law no. 158/2005 on holidays and social health insurance allowances. According to the initiative, people who accompany oncological patients over the age of 18 would benefit from leave and allowance when they accompany them to medical investigations, not just to surgeries and treatments.
The project was submitted by USR deputies Ciprian Rigman, Adrian Wiener and Ovidiu Paraschivescu, according to a statement sent by the party.
“We are talking about correcting a current inequity, because it is not normal for the state to penalize the companion of the cancer patient for accompanying the latter to investigations, operations and treatments.
Those who have gone through such situations, who have had cases in their family and friends, know very well that, in real terms, the oncological patient cannot be left to move and fend for himself after such procedures, so, in the end, through the new project we ensure that the right to health is truly pursued in these situations”declares USR deputy Ciprian Rigman.
The USR project provides that people who accompany oncology patients over 18 years of age will receive leave and allowance including for trips to medical investigations, not just for surgical interventions and treatments.
“The oncology patient has a terrifying journey to navigate in the healthcare system in Romania. From imaging, laboratory investigations, interdisciplinary consultations, monitoring. Sometimes bureaucracy, referrals, appointments, waiting.
Permanent emotional support, manifested including by accompanying these patients, is natural and invaluable. The project aims to offer this chance, and I think it is a moral imperative for a state that does far too little for the cancer patient”says Adrian Wiener, USR deputy and doctor.
The USR shows that approximately 560,000 oncological patients in Romania periodically need medical investigations, which is why their companions should benefit from leave and allowance in the case of these trips as well.
USR MP Ovidiu Paraschivescu claims that oncology patients need family support during medical investigations, and companions should not be penalized financially for this.
“The submitted project is an act of justice for cancer patientstoo often left alone by a complicated system, in long queues, where they sometimes lose their last chance at life. We want their loved ones to be able to go with them to tests and investigations, exactly where the fear and silence before a verdict hurts the most. The family is the biggest support in difficult times, and the state does a great injustice when it puts obstacles between a sick person and his relatives”, states USR deputy Ovidiu Paraschivescu.
Through the addition proposed by the USR, the national legislation also aligns with the objectives and recommendations of the European Union regarding the support given to oncological patients and their relatives, as provided for in the resolutions of the European Parliament and in the European Plan to fight cancer, strengthening the social dimension of health policies.
