Kurtish: Only the first three months 515 people have been affected with cancer

Kurtishi has stressed that by last year he had only 45 beds, while from May some 100 patients, with 100 beds or oncological chairs can be treated

“Klinic of oncology has started renovation since October 2023, and there have been two stages and renovation of two floors, the ground floor and the first floor, and we are in the final phase when most jobs have been completed and the maximum by May 20th patients will begin to receive treatments at the Oncology Clinic, which has increased capacity and doubled the number of beds for ambulance patients. We've treated patients with 45-bed chemotherapy service from May to treat about 100 patients with 100 oncological beds or chairs that will ensure new ones. To begin with, we'll have the existing ones and some beds and soon we'll have the new chairs that will provide a very good comfort and a much greater security in treating patients. At the same time, we have had renovations of professional ambulances for doctors who work in clinics where there will be more privacy. Over the next few months, we'll have a digitalization of services and we'll have the computer registration system of these patients who will then be distributed into doctors and receive services according to doctors' recommendations and instructions”, Kurtish said.

Oncologist Kurtishi has said the health ministry has earmarked about 600 thousand euros for renovation of the facility. It has shown that nearly 2,000 square metres of space within the clinic have been renovated.

“The health ministry on the basis of the project that we have here and SKKKUK have allocated about 600 thousand euros for the restoration of the facility that has been renovated nearly 2,000 square metres, which is a very necessary renovation for our clinic since we have constantly had such requests for space expansion based on the fact that the number of patients who require oncological services in Kosovo from day to day and year on year is on the rise and that little will ease the demands of our patients and create a more modern and more effective space for treating of patients, when the latter said.

Oncologist Kurtishi has cited the fact that even at this clinic as elsewhere in Kosovo there is a shortage of staff, but, according to him, it is expected to be replaced very quickly.

There are staffes in the Oncology “Klinika, but we also have certain shortages in other QKUK clinics when it comes to lehonia holidays, medical staff holidays and annual holidays at certain occasions, and this complicates our work during day-to-day services, especially in taking chemotherapy. Even though we've only had three nurses who left Kosovo for a better life and continued the profession in European Union countries, and very soon the KSKUK will compensate these nurses who left the clinic and maybe have additional nurses, and within two months we'll settle even better, and we'll have sufficient numbers of nursing staff<1>, Kurti said.

Kurtishi has also said they have a relatively large staff of about 70 workers who perform oncological services in more than 500 patients every day.

We are 20 experts in radio therapy and 13 experts in medical oncology already in nursing staff we have 26 nurses in the chemotherapy service and we have 13 radio therapy technicians who perform radiotherapeutic services, and at the same time we have a psychologist and two physical therapists and 7 physicists who do a clinic with a relatively large staff of about 70 employees who perform oncological services in more than 500 patients every day”, has been expressed among other Kurshi.

As far as medical supplies are concerned, Kurtishi has shown that they stand well in this respect, but as he has said the number of people affected with this disease is growing year after year and the needs for medicine are great. For the first three months alone, about 515 patients affected with cancer have been identified.

“As they speak, we have about 92 percent of the drug supply from the essential list, and we expect very quickly that with the arrival of certain drugs which are contracted by the Ministry of Health and who earlier have had marketing authorization problems we will have a supply of 97 or 98 percent, supply is better than the past years, but also that every day we have high numbers of patients who seek online services and sometimes lack of time after small, but these first four months of the 2024 we're covering up on 92 percent of the 93 or the list of drugs. For the first three months that we've been talking about identify or recording in the Oncology clinic about 515 people with cancer or tumors in adults who, compared to last year, is about 10 percent more than that, if this trend continues we're going to spend the year 2023, which has been the most recorded tumor cases, has reached the number of 2 100 patients, and this year we can probably have a higher number of”, he told Economnia Online.