Rogobete: "The healthcare system is screaming" – urgently requests funds from the Reserve Fund

Former Health Minister Alexandru Rogobete is raising the alarm over the rapidly deteriorating financial crisis in the healthcare system, urging Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan to urgently release funds from the Government's Reserve Fund without waiting for a budget rectification.

According to Rogobete, who says he has spoken with managers of university hospitals, county hospitals, and smaller facilities, the situation on the ground is already critical: "Emergency departments, unfortunately, have supplies only until the end of the month," he stated.

17 ambulance services with no funds for fuel

The former minister noted that, as of this morning, 17 county ambulance services have reported running out of funds for fuel, with their resources set to be exhausted by the end of the month. "It is absolutely imperative that the budget rectification take place as soon as possible," said Rogobete, recalling that he had previously warned of the risk of ambulances running out of fuel from 1 October onwards.

Funding cuts for critically ill patients

Rogobete also drew attention to a significant reduction in funds allocated to national programmes for serious cases: patients admitted to intensive care units, as well as those with strokes, acute myocardial infarction, polytrauma, and severe burns. "The biggest problem is that this coincides with a substantial reduction in funding for anaesthesia and intensive care within the priority national action programmes," he explained.

C.C. Iliescu Institute at risk of suspending elective procedures

One of the most alarming examples cited is that of the "C.C. Iliescu" Emergency Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases in Bucharest. According to Rogobete, the National Health Insurance House allegedly allocated not a single leu for September towards the most important open cardiac surgery programmes and other specific cardiac procedures. "What is happening is unprecedented," said the former minister.

As a result, the hospital is set to drastically curtail its activity: "Starting Friday, the C.C. Iliescu Institute in Bucharest will suspend elective procedures and treat only emergency cases — and even those only until supplies run out," Rogobete added.

"The healthcare system is screaming"

Rogobete maintains that these issues have been flagged for two weeks, during which the Ministry of Health has reportedly received no response from the Prime Minister. "Here we are, two weeks later, and the healthcare system is screaming — and rightly so — because they no longer have the means to treat critically ill emergency patients," he stated.

The former minister believes the solution is straightforward and immediate: "This crisis can be resolved today if Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan allocates dedicated funds from the Government's Reserve Fund for the ambulance service and emergency departments." Rogobete concluded: "There is no more time for political discussions, political plans, or anything else. In healthcare, we urgently need a rapid allocation from the Reserve Fund."