The Chamber of Deputies voted on the law protecting medical staff and unblocking hospital hiring

The Chamber of Deputies, acting as the decision-making body in this case, voted on Wednesday on the bill to amend Health Law no. 95/2006. The law extends legal protection for medical and healthcare personnel in situations involving assault and includes an amendment that unblocks recruitment in healthcare units. The legislation will now be sent for promulgation.

The plenary vote was 237 votes in favour, 11 against, and 40 abstentions.

The bill amends Article 652 of the Health Law, extending the legal protection afforded to employees within the healthcare system. In practice, the offence of assault against a public official will be applicable in cases of aggression against medical and auxiliary personnel, regardless of the form in which they practise their profession or the healthcare unit in which they work.

Those who initiated the bill state that the measures are intended to protect the safety and integrity of healthcare employees, to strengthen their professional standing, and to ensure that the same law is applied across all hospitals and medical units throughout the country.

What the PSD amendment on hospital posts provides for

In addition to the changes relating to the protection of medical personnel, deputies also approved an amendment proposed by PSD. This exempts from the recruitment freeze imposed by the fiscal-budgetary measures law those units and institutions subordinate to the Ministry of Health, hospitals under the authority of other ministries or institutions with their own healthcare network, as well as hospitals subordinate to local authorities.

In practice, hospitals will be able to hold competitive recruitment processes for vacant and budgeted posts, provided they remain within the budget approved for the current year. The amendment does not set a maximum number of appointments — the decision regarding which posts need to be filled remains at the discretion of each healthcare unit's manager, based on actual needs.

Former Minister of Health Alexandru Rogobete told the Chamber of Deputies plenary that the amendment "does more than simply unblock posts in hospitals." "If, for example, someone retires, the manager cannot advertise that post even though it is vacant and budgeted. That is why we introduced this amendment. I believe it is an important step for the entire healthcare system. The manager has the flexibility to decide based on the needs within their department, and they know best what posts are required: nurses, auxiliary staff, or doctors," he said.

When asked whether the new amendment overlaps with the memorandum approved by the Government the day before, Rogobete said the two instruments "work in tandem": "Managers will advertise posts within the limits of the approved budget — the memorandum works the same way. The amendment allows hospitals to recruit staff according to their needs. It does not add a fixed absolute figure. It gives hospitals the freedom to hire personnel for existing vacant and budgeted posts, which are far more numerous than those covered by the memorandum. We have calculated around 10,000, though without very precise figures," the former minister clarified.

The Government had already approved a memorandum on vacant posts

The amendment voted on Wednesday comes a day after the Government approved a memorandum on holding competitive recruitment processes for vacant posts in public healthcare units. The Executive's decision was taken against the backdrop of the general strike launched by the SANITAS trade union.

The memorandum allows approximately 6,850 posts to be advertised at hospitals funded by the National Unique Fund for Social Health Insurance and at ambulance services. The majority of these posts are for nurses, auxiliary personnel, and doctors.

Following the final vote in the Chamber of Deputies, the law will be sent for promulgation to President Nicușor Dan and will come into force upon publication in the Official Gazette.