Health Sector Strike: Rafila Says Salary Increases Are "Just on Paper"

The general strike in the healthcare system continues, with doctors, nurses, and trade union leaders speaking about the situation in hospitals on the programme "Miza Zilei" on Realitatea PLUS, hosted by Ana Maria Păcuraru. The guests accused the new pay legislation, championed by Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, of reducing medical staff's income.

Participants warned that staff shortages are placing excessive strain on remaining hospital employees and endangering patient safety. Representatives of the medical sector stated that the strike would continue until pay issues and the staffing deficit are resolved.

Unpaid overtime and exhausted staff

Beatrice Mahler, former manager of the "Marius Nasta" Institute, stressed that "in the healthcare system, overtime is not paid", even though employees work those hours to keep hospitals running. Dr Cătălin Cîrstoveanu, head of the ICU department, said that political decision-makers do not understand how medical work is organised, and that staff cannot simply be transferred from one speciality to another.

Cristian Piscureanu, an ICU nurse at Floreasca Hospital, stated that employees are doing everything possible to cover staffing gaps with existing resources. Alexandru Ocoleanu, head ICU nurse at Cantacuzino Hospital, described the mood within hospitals as follows: "We feel somehow abandoned. We've reached a place of abandonment, of indifference."

A doctor could lose 6,000 RON, says SANITAS leader

Viorel Hușanu, leader of the SANITAS trade union, stated that the new pay rules could result in losses of 6,000 RON for a doctor. He drew attention to the fact that staff shortages are driving those still in work to exhaustion: "Sadly, colleagues are dying from exhaustion. The care assistant is rushing between two floors, the nurse, instead of providing care… We simply cannot go on."

Former Health Minister Alexandru Rafila challenged the official pay figures, describing the increases presented as "a raise on paper", bearing no relation to the reality in hospitals. Dr Radu Țincu recalled that, in the past, the lack of a clear vision for the healthcare system had prompted doctors to move abroad, and called for a clear strategy for the future of Romanian medicine.