26 December 2012, 12:30
New composition of the Cabinet of Ministers, adopted by the Decrees of the President of Ukraine should demonstrate new approaches to resolving long-standing economic problems and social policy of the state. Only under this condition the change of the negative attitude to reform on the part of Ukrainian people can be expected. This idea was expressed by the First deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ihor Kalyetnik.
I.Kalyetnik would like to remind the newly appointed to the post of Health Minister Raisa Bohatyriova that medical reform started in Vinnytsya, Dnipropetrovsk, and Donetsk regions and in Kyiv has caused frustration of 95% of population with its results.
“Dissatisfied are both patients and medical personnel. They rightly believe that methods of implementing the reform destroy the existing system of medical institutions, while opportunities to provide qualitative medical help become more scarce,” Ihor Kalyetnik noted.
He believes that innovations connected with establishing the system of family medicine and family doctors turned to be not-fully-thought-out when applied practically. We lack the system of teaching family doctors and retraining of the existing medical personnel.
“Doctors of different specialties were just brought to notice that they have become family doctors. What sort of professional help can we talk here!” the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada stressed.
Ihor Kalyetnik calls disastrous underfunding of healthcare system to be one of the negative sides of the reform. UAH 9 billion is supposed to be spent from the budget on the needs of the department in 2013.
“Lack of funds does not allow medical institutions cover expenses on heating, energy and salaries, not to mention medicine and food for patients. Salary of a medical worker does not meet modern requirements: UAH 1445 for a beginning doctor. Such level of salary causes demotivation at work and reduces the prestige of a profession,” he said.
According to the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, the Communist faction is extremely dissatisfied with the methods of implementing medical reform.
“We resolutely demand that the Prime Minister Azarov and the specialized Committee should abandon false ides of reforming medical sector and should rather increase its funding. At least 10% of State Budget revenues are to be allocated to restore full-fledged, affordable and free medical treatment,” Ihor Kalyetnik informed.