Coronavirus in Romania: Doctors at newest public hospital hand in resignations over lack of protective equipment, manager turns them down

Several doctors working at the Mioveni Hospital, in southern Romania’s Argeș county, have submitted their resignations after the County Committee for Emergency Situations decided that the medical unit would treat Covid-19 patients, Mediafax reported.

Horia Trăilă, the manager of the hospital, explained that the resignations were submitted because the doctors do not have the needed protection equipment. He said he did not accept the resignations.

“I cannot accept this. The discontent concerns the fact that one cannot go out there fighting unless they know how many bullets they have. It is hard to go into a fight empty-handed. One cannot draw up a plan,” Trăilă told Mediafax.

The manager did not mention how many doctors submitted their resignations or whether the hospital will turn into a unit treating Covid-19 patients. However, he said “we will put up a fight, people shouldn’t think we are cowards.”

“We are awaiting for some clarifications from the Health Ministry. We have the equipment we purchased and the one received from donations. We have no FFP3 masks, 25 FFP2 masks, and 60 protective suits. We have received some suits that are not appropriate for this [e.n. Covid-19 epidemic]. The hospital was not designed as an infectious diseases one. It is more dangerous in the case of this infection than an older hospital,” he said.

In his turn, Argeș county prefect Emanuel Soare said the needed equipment will arrive.

“It is the decision of the County Committee for Emergency Situations (e.n. that the Mioveni Hospital treat Covid-19 cases), the Public Health Department (DSP) issued the approvals. We have no reason to change this decision. The equipment will come,” Soare said.

The Mioveni Hospital opened last year. It cost EUR 68 million and was built from scratch. It is one of the few public hospitals to be built in the last 30 years, alongside the Gomoiu Children’s Hospital in Bucharest or the Regional Oncology Institute in Iași.

Since the start of the coronavirus crisis, several heads of public health departments (DSP) resigned. In Braşov county, Anca Bertea, the director of the Braşov Public Health Department resigned last week saying “the institution was not prepared when things went well, even less so in the current situation,” BizBrasov.ro reported. Silvia Boliacu, the head of the Suceava Public Health Department, resigned after the Suceava County Hospital turned into a Covid-19 infections hotspot. On March 12, Ramona Ionescu, the manager of the Braşov Infectious Diseases Hospital, which is meant to receive Covid-19 cases, also resigned. Dan Ioniță, the director of the Prahova Public Health Department, and Alin Nasta, the head of the Bacău Public Health Department, also resigned. Cristina Pelin, the director of the Bucharest Public Health Department, resigned on March 11, after complaints from Covid-19 suspects and people who wanted to go into isolation that nobody at DSP was answering phone-calls. Cornelia Malac, the head of the Timiș Public Health Department, and Carmen Ivanov, the head of the Gorj Public Health Department, were dismissed by the Health Ministry for failing to take the appropriate measures required in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. Many DSP heads are appointed politically. The public health departments represent the the health authorities at a local level, draft the local health programs and policies, manage the organization of health units and the implementation of publicly-funded health investments.

(Photo: Spitalul Orasenesc Mioveni Facebook Page)

[email protected]