Premium
A total of 3,500 health projects funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) are currently underway in Romania, Health Minister Alexandru Rafila announced on Friday evening at an event organised by the Ministry of Health, with the support of WHO Romania.
The event was meant to mark two years of implementation of major projects in the health system. The 3,500 projects total 11 billion lei, Agerpres informs.
"We currently have 3,500 health projects underway in Romania, major investment projects that will change the face of the health system in Romania in a short time - in one, two, three years. And we not only have family doctors' offices, we also have integrated community centres, we have specialist outpatient clinics, we have neonatology wards and, perhaps most spectacularly and most significantly for the public, there are many hospitals that have started to be built in Romania. In addition, the reform of the health system is a process we are working on together with the World Health Organization," Rafila is quoted in a press release as saying at the beginning of the event.
He stressed the importance of partnerships between health professionals from the Ministry of Health and hospitals in Romania, the media and non-governmental organisations.
Carmen Orban, state advisor to Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, said that the last two years have been "a unique opportunity" to develop investments in the health system.
Also with PNRR funding, the process of digitisation of hospitals and health insurance companies is being carried out, said Carmen Orban. No less than one hundred million euros can be used by health units for digitisation projects, which aim to increase access to and improve health services, optimise management and human resources planning.
Rector of the "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy Viorel Jinga spoke as a representative of the G6 University Alliance Association, which includes the Romanian universities of medicine and pharmacy. He announced a series of reform projects that aim at: three centres for the development of professional competences for health professionals; training of one thousand doctors and nurses in health management; training of 3,000 professionals in terms of integrity and ethics.
The head of the WHO Office in Romania, Dr Caroline Clarinval, said that the PNRR was developed to create a radical change in the health system, adding that the WHO played a role of technical partner for the Health Ministry, supporting work in four areas, human resources, medical service management, care quality and digitisation, while WHO Romania and the WHO Regional Office for Europe worked together to bring international expertise to Romania.
