The doctors in the rural areas 'are leaving'

The National Society of Family Doctors criticizes the authorities` proposals regarding the functioning of countryside doctor’s surgeries.

The doctors say that the order published on the website of the National Health Insurance House (NHIH) reduces the number of patientsm, and therefore the income.

The order setting out the functioning of medical offices for doctors in the rural areas is under public debate. Thursday is the deadline for sending out proposals to the NHIH.

In terms of this project, most doctors in the deprived areas will have technically no chance at any kinds of income increases.

The Head of the Rural Department, dr. Sandra Alexiu, states that the income of a doctor who has a list of about 1000 patients will decrease by approximately 40 percent.

‘One criterion is that this surgery is located 60-100 kilometres from the nearest emergency room. But in Romania there are counties which don`t even have this span.’

‘Or the town where they work has to have a length of 10 to 15 kilometres. However, few villages in Romania meet this criterion.’

‘This is the kind of criteria especially designed to totally discourage the medical primary care in the rural areas’, Sandra Alexiu says.

The National Health Insurance House motivates in the report for approval of the classification criteria for the offices of family doctors that the conditions in which doctors examine their patients have improved. However, Doctor Paul Şerban, from Botoşani county, states that even though some roads have been paved or gravelled, ‘the conditions did not improve much.’

‘In my case, the road between Nicşeni and Corlăteni was paved last year. When the floods came, the road went half a metre under water.’

‘It took me as much time to get to the surgery as it would have taken me if I had travelled the distance from Botoşani to Bacău!’

Paul Şerban argues that according to the new criteria he will not have the same income as in previous years and that generally, doctors will leave the countryside.

Family doctors want the government to give up the project and maintain the current payment criteria for 2011, also.


Translated by Manuela Stancu
MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University