Health Program is considered a list of wishes, without clear objectives

For this mandate, the Government of Kosovo has set a top priority in managing the COVID-19 pandemic, but in the labour plan, the Ministry of Health has seen creating a new health care strategy as well as reviewing the legal framework of the health sector, with particular emphasis on the Law on Health Insurance, and changing the Law for Health Insurance. For the next four years, this dictatorship also aims at reform in order to improve health services for Kosovo citizens.

But, the whole plan by the opposition is being assessed as the weakest programme yet, even connoisseurs of the field are considering “a list of wishes”.

Democratic Party of Kosovo MP Bekim Haxhiu is calling for the health plan to be withdrawn from the government and improved, since as such he calls it a plan that includes nothing concrete.

The Ministry of Health's work plan, Haxhiu values it as the weakest programme approved by a post-war government.

“There is nothing concrete (in the governing program) mentioned only words of reorganization, functional revulsion of services that already exist, so when you function, it's about a new service, there's only mispronounced words and formulas, and that don't relate to reality, so I've asked that the Government is good to attract this program, to improve its content and in terms of formulaation, because there's a huge slide. This was to be the weakest program approved by a post-war government, so it would be good to improve it for themselves. There are no clear objectives, nor will the health system improve, nor will the” services, Haxhiu said.

The member of the Parliamentary Commission for Health from the PDK ranks estimates this health programme bypasses patients and health professionals.

Haxhiu sees as very disturbing the fact that this government has not seen to address the Law on Transplanting Organs, although a series of laws affecting health have been included in the legislative agenda for compliance.

The word "patial" and "mental professional" has been overlooked in the health program and when they are neglected as words are ignored as opportunities to care for the patient but also for the well-being of health professionals, no wage increases and no health insurance, no deadlines when the health information system is completed, and many other shortcomings. So it's a big trick with this program and really not real. It's disturbing how nearly all laws affecting the health sector have been approached, provided in the legislative agenda for completion and change, but it's not the Law on Transplanting Organs that our citizens would benefit from”, the deputy stressed. PDK.

Global health policy research specialist Hannah Xhemajli said the executive along with priority pandemic management should also have the restructuring of the Kosovo University Clinical Hospital Service.

Xhemajli requires that for any promise the Ministry of Health give a deadline for their realisation.

There's nothing wrong with the plan, but there's some things that aren't so prior to seeing some things you thought should come after the vaccine. SHSKUK's restructuring, more needs to be talked about, COVID has also highlighted many health sector flaws, not only in Kosovo, but also in the strongest countries, and that I expect to be priority, health insurance, health information system does not mean they are very important, but in some way are more important than some that can wait for”, she said.

Xhemajli, naming the programme “wishers”, said the alleged reform in the health set up in the plan is very necessary, but that needs to be specified more clearly as to what it means, who it will include and when it will begin.

Because health reform needs to be known, we all know mistakes, those who deal with this area of reform what I expect from the minister to see how he saw this reform and in what form and when it will start this reform because the plan is for 2021-2025 when this reform starts, whether it will start after the vaccine or over and what it means. There are many areas to be fulfilled to reason on what reform means. It doesn't look like a plan, it feels like a list of desires that are basically in order until they're explained any longer. ”, she stressed.

But, otherwise, the opinion separates Vetevendosje Movement deputy chairman Fatmire Kolcak, who says that with the Kurti Government, 2 has turned over the lack of attention to the health sector. She says that in this mandate the government will experience the concept of family medicine in order to improve the services for patients.

“Reorganization means the focus on family medicine where the application of the concept of family medicine, where we have built objects so far, but it's never lived in real family medicine, where the QMFs will be functional in villages, the more rural parts, because we have patients who probably have QMFs near home or a doctor is not interested in taking family medicine because sometimes they're without a doctor. So it's the interest to really apply the concept of family medicine, then investment in the secondary and digestive level that we have, investments where reorganization is needed. So our interest is safe and quality services, and this has been lacking so that when you are instructed in public health institutions they can receive safe and quality services. On the other hand, health workers” would also be supported, she said.

Kolcak has now declared for Kosovo that even the legislative agenda for the health sector is quite ambitious.

And then we're going to meet most of the health laws beginning with the basic Health Law then the Law on Control and Prevention of Contagion that is very current because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Law on Health Insurance, where it will be invested in infrastructure because we've adopted it but we've never established a fund and not implemented as such. And in the legislative framework that has been brought by the Government to the Assembly, it is seen to be quite ambitious because it envisions the fulfillment of many laws and some new laws expected to be adopted”, Kolcak stressed.