The way care centers are checked 'should be changed'

Care centers in Ilfov were checked by the public health authorities at the beginning of this year, but no significant deviations were found - as stated by the Minister of Health, Alexandru Rafila. He says, however, that the way these checks are done is not effective and should be changed.

Alexandru Rafila: We often end up finding that when we do an inspection, we do each one individually, that is, each institution, we often check papers, instead of checking records, and I think the most important thing is to see how effectively the patients who are in such centers are taken care of. I mean, I don't think it's important, as far as I know, that there is a contract for the provision of medical services to such a center, but how those medical services are carried out. There must be discussions with patients, discussions with doctors who provide this type of healthcare, so that there is also a correlation between the existing contracts and the reality of the services that are offered to these patients. So, at the end of this multidisciplinary control activity that is carried out at national level, at least we, as the Ministry of Health, will propose amending the legislation from this moment.

Minister Alexandru Rafila also announced the development of a pilot project through which some centers that host patients with mental illnesses can be considered external wards of psychiatric hospitals as a form of palliation for these patients.

Translated by: Radu Matei