
Through a reaction on Facebook, doctor Alketa Ibranji responded to Prime Minister Edi Rama's statements regarding complaints about primary health care and delays reported by citizens in the system.
The doctor's reaction
Referring to the recent statement by CM Edi Rama regarding the complaint of the pensioner lady who leaves at 5-6 in the morning to receive service at the public health service polyclinics in Albania and the delay of doctors in work.
Since it is clear from your statement that you do not have accurate information on the functioning of primary public health structures, I would like to inform you:
Primary Health Service polyclinics begin work at 7:30 a.m. - 8:10 p.m. This schedule is transparent and posted on the main door of each institution, as required by law.
From 7:30 - 8:00, the laboratory service is the first to open and tests are taken for all patients scheduled for the respective day.
The departure of every patient at 5 or 6 in the morning waiting for the start of the official schedule, you can also answer your friend worried about his mother, it is the mother's choice, not an indicator of the malfunction of the primary public health service. Every arrival at work during the official schedule, if the patient is waiting on the street at 5 or 6 in the morning, the delay will be visible, of course. But this should not be articulated by you as such because it is a big MISTAKE. A CM should not speak without having accurate information, because the mistake carries the weight of the post of the one who utters the words.
As I believe you are aware of the investments you have made in healthcare, one of them is called the Referral System, which has a maintenance cost of over 150 million lek per year. For your information, since it appears from your last communication that you do not know how it works, in order to improve the quality of service, patients are scheduled to come at well-defined time slots precisely so that there is no overcrowding and long waiting lines.
Your friend's retired mother who brought the complaint to you should have had one of the following time slots in her recommendation:
8:00 - 10:00, 10:00 - 12:00, 12:00 - 14:00, 14:00 - 16:00, 16:00 - 18:00 and 18:00 - 20:00.
Inform your friend not to let his mother leave the house at 5 in the morning, even though he has been clearly instructed to do so by his family doctor.
Another problem you raise is the late arrival of medical staff to work. This is a problem that is identified and resolved at the relevant directorate level, honorable Mr. Prime Minister. Be careful with this own goal because in all the checks carried out by the relevant structures, the result is the opposite of what you say. Get informed!
If this is the kind of pressure you want to exert on 1,763 doctors and 6,675 nurses in primary care, that they could be fired because your friend's mother complains about the doctors, I dare say that the entire weight of the terrible pandemic fell on the shoulders of these people, when it took on dimensions that you had not anticipated, without schedules, without bonuses, without any evaluation.
It is precisely this army of people that is the reason why Albanian taxpayers are still knocking on the doors of the public service. Personal phone numbers, which were made public without consent during the pandemic, are still answered outside of official hours, because unlike the public administration, the work of a doctor is not measured only by working hours, honorable Prime Minister.
I would ask you to ask that friend:
1) How much is his mother's pension?
We expect pensioners in these institutions where they do not hesitate to complain about this vital issue. Precisely because they find a welcoming environment, they dare to talk about household chores. We can't do it! Thank goodness the children help us! This is the daily refrain.
2) What % of her pension does she pay for medications (beyond the value of the reimbursement prescription) to receive medications that are making her sick? I am speaking to you in the language of pensioners, my dear.
3) Maybe your friend's mother is lucky to have her son here. Come for a single week and see how many pensioners cry from missing their children far from Albania and their chronic illnesses are aggravated by the psychological strain.
Without further ado, this is not the first attempt to target doctors and nurses, when the abysses of Albanian healthcare are there, before your eyes, and are a reality where pensioners, doctors and nurses, and all the sick people of this country are drowning.
If there is a single value in this Public Health System that is free, that stems from humane feelings and the vocation of the profession, these are the doctors and nurses of this country. There is no salary that values them enough! Don't you dare touch them!
You, no!