Rogobete warns: hospitals risk running out of emergency supplies

Former Health Minister Alexandru Rogobete has issued a warning about the financial state of Romanian hospitals, claiming that emergency departments are at risk of running out of basic medical supplies.

When asked whether the funding problems could endanger patients' lives, Rogobete replied: "If emergency departments run out of supplies, unfortunately yes."

Budgets "at the limit" for essential programmes

According to the former minister, budgets for priority programmes — including those for intensive care, strokes, and heart attacks — have reached their limit. He maintains that he had previously flagged concerns about the funding of these programmes.

Rogobete offered a concrete example: "At the CC Iliescu Institute in Bucharest, the National Health Insurance House did not transfer a single leu, not a single penny, in September, for the most important cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular surgery programmes. It is utterly incomprehensible."

The former minister believes that the authorities should urgently increase funding for emergency reception units (UPU) and intensive care units (ATI): "I cannot understand why they are not urgently supplementing, from the Government's reserve fund, the programmes for UPU and ATI, because that is where the greatest concentration of emergencies lies."

Criticism of the National Health Insurance House

Rogobete also criticised the way the CNAS budget is being managed, arguing that the institution could redistribute funds between programmes according to need: "It is showing a complete lack of vision at this moment of crisis, because it has the ability to move money between the programmes it oversees."

He explained that some programmes have lower financial expenditure, and that the available funds from those could be redirected towards areas under pressure: "There are certain programmes where financial consumption is lower, and funds could urgently be supplemented across other programmes."

660 million requested, 490 million received

The former minister also elaborated on the budget situation for the emergency sector, which was approved during his time in office. According to him, the Ministry of Health requested 660,000,000 RON but received only 490,000,000 RON.

"The Ministry of Health requested 660 million for the emergency sector. There are documents to that effect. Bolojan cut 10% from the outset to reduce the deficit, and then, upon recalculation, a further sum was cut. The fact is that the ministry received 490 million of what was requested," Rogobete stated.

Budget not approved until March

Rogobete further explained that this year's budget was not approved until March, and that until then institutions had been operating under the one-twelfth rule of the annual budget. As a result, January and February, plus part of March, were managed under a constrained financial arrangement, with a significant portion of funds used to pay off arrears. In this context, the former minister says, pressure on hospitals has steadily increased, and medical staff are facing an increasingly difficult situation.

"An unprecedented situation"

Rogobete states that hospital staff are desperate due to the financial difficulties and considers the current situation to be unprecedented for the Romanian healthcare system: "Never before in Romanian hospitals have supplies from the emergency reserve fund had to be used."

According to the former minister, the funding of emergency medical services must be resolved quickly, so that hospitals can ensure they have the materials needed to treat patients.