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We also applaud, donate funds, post encouraging notes on the entrances to the hospital. But are we united and equal? I’m not so sure. As early as Monday, a person who lives in the Lithuanian district and will need medical services may not receive them when they come to the hospital or polyclinic, because there simply will be no one to provide them.
But are we united and equal? I’m not so sure.
And not because doctors don’t want to or can’t, but because the person who lives in the area became less important overnight than the resident of the big cities.
According to the decision of the Minister of Health, Aurelijus Veryga, starting next week, doctors will be able to work in another institution only after completing a one-month work cycle in the first place of work (whatever that means ). This is not a new idea. An attempt was made in April to impose a ban on doctors who work in more than one personal health center on an environmental basis. However, in opposition to the country’s municipalities and some doctors, the ban remained a recommendation.
And yesterday, the ban was unexpectedly revived and simply “downgraded” to all doctors, and therefore to the Lithuanian people. Without discussions or warnings, without time to prepare and inform the population.
What does this decision mean? Firstly, the fact that people living in the country’s districts are slightly less Lithuanian citizens than in cities with large hospitals. They will no longer have the same access to health care services, as large numbers of doctors in Lithuanian district hospitals now come to work from larger hospitals.
Following the minister’s decision, there may be only a few doctors left in smaller hospitals that will not be able to provide medical care.
Following the minister’s decision, there may be only a few doctors left in smaller hospitals who will not be able to provide medical care to the entire population or even provide the necessary emergency care. Also, more than one mayor says banning doctors from larger municipalities will mean that some hospitals will simply have to close entirely, leaving only the nursing wards.
For example, in Pasvalys, out of 12 anesthesiologists who work in the hospital, 11 arrive, respectively, 8 out of 11 internal medicine doctors and 8 out of 10 surgeons who arrive. Currently, the hospital employs a single local pediatrician, two obstetricians, and gynecologists. In Elektrėnai, resuscitation and pediatric wards may have to be closed when doctors from other hospitals do not come.
And these are just a few examples. The consequences of this new ban will soon be felt by a large part of the Lithuanian population.
A district resident must travel to hospitals in major cities for assistance.
A district resident must travel to hospitals in major cities for assistance. However, far from everyone has this possibility, so the availability of a service that must be guaranteed to all citizens becomes a privilege, since until now no transport algorithm has been developed. Patient queues will increase and relevant services will have to wait even longer than before.
Another problem is that large hospitals currently treating patients with COVID-19 will not be safer if patient flows increase.
Therefore, one of the most important human services, medical care, will be much more difficult for district residents to access or will have to be abandoned entirely.
The decision was made by the Minister at a time when the spread of the virus in the country is halting, quarantine is being relaxed, and people have increasing access to various services.
After all, it would be enough to choose a different path: take maximum care of the appropriate protective equipment for doctors working in all hospitals in the country and test them frequently. In this way, we would protect them and our citizens, who could receive the necessary medical care at any time. Because even in the face of the crisis, Minister, we still have the same rights, both in large cities and in smaller municipalities.
Because even in the face of the crisis, Minister, we still have the same rights.
A couple of weeks ago, in a remote meeting with the mayors of Lithuania, Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis promised that no transformation of the regional hospital network would take place without detailed discussions with the municipalities, without listening to their opinions and suggestions. However, restricting the work of doctors in various institutions is precisely the step of such a transformation, by the way, it is not the first time that an attempt has been made. The question arises: why did Minister A. Veryga fail these words from the Prime Minister?
And most importantly, why is health care becoming a luxury for a large part of the Lithuanian population? After all, we all kept quarantine together, we also restricted our lives together while protecting our lives. And we applaud the doctors all together.
Mindaugas Sinkevičius – President of the Association of Lithuanian Municipalities
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