Some hospitals from Moldova need medical equipment - ombudsman says

Chisinau, 10 April /MOLDPRES/ - More medical institutions from Moldova face need of compulsory medical equipment, while the present medical devises are highly worn out and have expired validity term. The findings are contained in a reported unveiled by ombudsman Mihail Cotorobai today.     

According the report, more equipments from the diagnosis and surgery sections are highly worn out. Thus, some devices owned by medical institutions have a length of exploitation of up to 40 years, although the international norms provide for a term of up to ten years. At the same time, 65 per cent out of the 34 Roentgen apparatus, reported by institutions at the moment of evaluation, have a degree of wear from 75 to 100 per cent, which shows a risk of damage for patients and staff working with these devices.      

The degree of endowment of the emergency reception, reanimation and intensive therapy units nationally is 67 per cent, on average, which does not fit the norms. About one third of the hospitals report a deficit of necessary equipment.   

The report also stipulates that 80 per cent of the institutions assessed record an insufficient number of monitors for monitoring the vital signs and the existing ones have a high degree of wear and do not meet the needs of a qualitative medical act. Some institutions report coverage of 50 or even 45 per cent, which means that practically each second bed with patient with serious state, who needs monitoring, is not endowed with such a system.   

Mihail Cotorobai said that the lack of the necessary medical equipment, its non-conforming state, wear of medical devices can cause serious damage to the life and health of patients, as well as medical staff. In this context, the ombudsman voiced hope that the Health, Labour and Social Protection Ministry, other competent institutions will make use of the findings from the report in order to identify solutions to the current problems.