Moldovan health minister says ministry's priority protection, well-being of residents through quality services

Chisinau, 30 January /MOLDPRES/ – The priority of ministerial team is to ensure protection and well – being of the population of Moldova throughout quality social and medical services by means reforms and policies to overcome the shortcomings in the system. The announcement was made by the Minister of Health, Labour and Social Protection (MSMPS), Svetlana Cebotari, today at a press conference presenting priorities of the institution for 2018.

According to the Minister, a mechanism for stimulating the staff of state service of public health supervision will be elaborated in the field of public health in 2018 and ensured functionality of 10 regional centres for lab performance, making their activity more efficient by reducing costs and increasing quality of provided services.

“In order to improve quality and accessibility of provided medical services, it will be promoted the new mechanism of contracting medical services by family doctors, extended the list of compensated medicines, as well as there will be purchased new ambulances worth MDL 273 million and built a hospital to provide quality health care closer to population in the north of Moldova. Similarly, it will be reduced waiting list for cataract and endoprosthesis interventions by shortening the waiting time and bringing them closer to home, and there will be provided oncological services of chemotherapy and radiotherapy for some categories of patients who do not need hospitalization,” said Cebotari.

The quoted source said that the national programme on sexual and reproductive health and rights 2018 – 2022 will be implemented in 2018 so that vulnerable population will be provided with modern methods of contraception and increase its access to in vitro fertilization services.

“In the field of social and medical insurance, it is to be ruled out that insurance policy is held on paper, following to be indexed on 01 April 2018, social insurance benefits starting from the annual growth of the consumer price index for 2017, and forecast for this indicator is 6.5 per cent. The following stages of pension revaluation will be made in advance, for retirement benefit recipients and for beneficiaries of pension on disability. The ministry also wants to increase the social protection of citizens who work temporarily in a foreign country, so it will continue the process of negotiations with Israel and there will be initiated negotiations with Italy and Belarus,” said the minister.

In the field of labour and demography, the interinstitutional mechanism for referral of citizens returning from abroad is to be applied for their reintegration into Moldova. Similarly, in the field of social assistance, the amount of social allowances is to be increased by 20 per cent for 27,000 persons with disabilities and for 11,700 children with disabilities. The National Programme and Deinstitutionalisation Action Plan will also be promoted and approved focusing on deinstitutionalization of about 2,000 persons in residential institutions within a decade.

(Reporter A. Ciobanu, editor M. Jantovan)