Romania’s centre-left government in Romania plans to stem the worrying exodus of qualified medics from the country by raising their salaries by 10 per cent.

Some 125,000 doctors and nurses will benefit from this measure by November, according to a government document made public on Wednesday.

However, the document fails to show where the money will come from to cover the resulting gap in the budget.

The average salary of a junior doctor in Romania is around 250 euro a month, while a qualified doctor earns around 1,500 euro a month.

Unsurprisingly, given the uncompetitive scale of wages, Romania’s healthcare system is one of the worst in Europe. In 2010 it ranked last among 33 countries, according to the European Healthcare Consumer Index.

Low pay in the health sector and the government’s apparent unwillingness to carry out reforms have been blamed for an annual exodus of qualified doctors and nurses.

The Romanian College of Doctors says that some 3,000 medics emigrate every year to get better salaries and working conditions elsewhere.

Romania now has a shortage of doctors. On average, there are only 1.95 for every 1,000 people, compared to an EU average of 3.18.

The planned rise in health sector salaries is the latest in a series of government moves aimed at boosting jobs and the economy in general.

Early this month, parliament adopted a law supported by Prime Minister Victor Ponta, which proposed to cut the social security tax paid by employers by 5 per cent. The tax is known as the CAS.

The move remains controversial, as Romania’s main lender, the IMF, opposed cutting the CAS, fearing the impact on government revenues.

President Traian Basescu has refused to sign the law before obtaining assurances from the Prime Minister about which resources will support this cut.

Theoretically, the rise in doctors’ salaries – and the cut in the CAS – are good news for many Romanians. But analysts say such decisions should only be taken if they are sustainable in the long term and will not push up other taxes.

Prime Minister Ponta is pushing ahead with the measures, however, as he prepares to run for the post of President of Romania in November.