Health in Regress, patients with private eyes

This sector, which is being praised by the opposition as degraded and by the brink of collapse in the last three months of 2022, was managed by taskeering, following Rifat Latif's resignation from the position of minister of health. But in the last week of 2022, the dictatorship was renamed, Arben Vitita.

From the Association for Patients' Rights in Kosovo, they are considering that in the past year the number of patients in the country has increased until health services have deteriorated.

Chairman PRAK, Besim Kodra estimates the year 2022 as a year of health relations.

And what we've actually noted has been problems with access to health services, very large bureaucracy, long waiting lists, lack of drugs which in most cases make patients boycott the public health system and switch to that private system, even though this luxury cannot be given to all patients because this is where the poor class of society is hit. There's already a regression, except laws are being implemented, as in advance with reform, people are constantly having the problem of getting closer, community needs for health care are only growing, there's no preventative health that helps people prevent disease, but we have all of a risk approach that we only deal with when they happen, and the cost of treatment is always going on, public health is only getting worse, says Kodra.

According to Kodra, in 2022 because of numerous dissatisfactions and shortages, patients have been forced to boycott the public medical system.

“If we take primary care it turns out there are about 1 million more visits compared to last year where there were four million, there's a million less, if we look at QKUK and general hospitals have dropped the number of visits because people are now boycotting the system and they're also leaving the country because of different circumstances, but also because of health insurance, because they're not making sure of that”, he says.

Even health policy expert Ilir Hoxha stresses that Kosovo health was without clear vision even during 2022.

According to him, several progressive steps have been taken, but protection from the financial burden of patients, improvement and increased health services continue to remain challenging.

“You have two health problems, and every solution has had to be linked to both. One is the financial burden that comes from health care, and the second is access to health care, these two problems have Kosovo, and every move in these two ways reduces the financial burden in health and improves access to health services is the way to go. The health problem is also involved with the current government that maybe there is no clear vision that we are loving health after 5 or 10 years that is not clear. Models are just everywhere that political energy, not improvised, will move the country towards a health system, otherwise daily armaments will not bring any results, Hoxha says.

That the health situation has not marked progress, as well as Oda of Kosovo Doctors (OMK). Pleaments Sejdiu, chairman, says the chain manager in this system has again failed.

Sejdiu points out that during 2022, there has been great dissatisfaction between health professionals and patients themselves.

According to him, although they had enormous expectations by former Prime Minister Latifi again had failures and setbacks.

All governments are increasing the budget, but that budget is not transforming into significant improvement, so the whole chain management system has failed this year, even last year, even three years ago, there is no co-ordination chain that would co-ordinate activities where that 1 euro given by the additional government is not investigated. We have thought that many transformations will take place in health through the completion of the Health Law and the structures of all those dealing with health policies are behind the transformation block, yet there are chains such as the issue of the health Information System that is key and has not gone, we don't still have clinical protocols that have a basis for more effective and more quantitative work, they're nowhere, and all of this goes to a responsible one called for implementing the <x1) laws, he indicated.

The criticism for degradation of the public health system has former Health Minister Armend Zemaj, who says Kosovo health has lacked the plan and political support.

Democratic League of Kosovo deputy (LDK) considers that during the past year the health sector has been left in the hands of fate, while adding that neither legislative agenda for the sector has been achieved.

There was no management after all and was at the mercy of fate and all health professionals, but not in political and executive care, without plans, without vision, without adequate management, mismanagement in the full sense of speech and without any positive interference from the Parliament Government. It is a degrading year and the health system is ahead of collapse in the sense of scandals and all that is happening in Kosovo. A government that has failed to bring at least one content law into the health sector throughout the year, we have been deceived by the Law on Health to come, the date for coming, last year, has been said, the law was rejected by the opposition”, the Zemaj deputy says.

The member of the Parliamentary Health Commission says that numerous shortages in essential supplies have added to the patient's health and financial condition.

“With this government and with this state of state what citizens are faced with the greatest pain because the elementary things are missing and the goats are missing, even the face and water distilled, all missing, which is basic for the doctor, the nurse to exercise his work and at least come to the aid of the patient, the citizens have been forced to do so all year long with shortages, with great shortages, and lack of supply, and also to buy in this <x1 crisis, he points out.

In September, with the proposal of Prime Minister Albin Kurti was founded the Executive Commission for Health, but this commission was also deemed unproductive.