According to the Ministry of Health’s official response to questions from Deputy USR Adrian Wiener, who is also a doctor at the Arad County Hospital, all county emergency services in Romania are currently run by interim managers. “No one complains about the old ambulances, about the lack of staff. They all fit well in the minister’s pen,” says Adrian Wiener.

“Accordingly, I am ready. Article 118 par. (3) from Law No. 95/2006 on health care reform, republished until the management positions included in the management committee are filled by competition, the temporary management of the county ambulance services and the Bucharest-Ilfov ambulance service appointed by an order from the Minister of Health on the advisory opinion of the Department for Emergency Situations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The temporary general director and other members of the temporary management committee are appointed for a period of time until unilateral removal from office, but for no more than 6 months.

12/12/2022 all district ambulance services in Romania work with temporary managers”, This is stated in the official answer of the Ministry of Health to the question of the deputy of the Ukrainian SSR Adrian Wiener.

“This is how you suppress institutional independence and ensure peace”

On the other hand, Adrian Wiener speaks about the possible stakes of these long gaps from his pen: “Absolutely all district ambulance services in Romania are run by temporary managers; all with appointments every 6 months by order of Minister Rafila. All of them fit well in the “ministerial pen”. Of course, no one complains about ambulances that are more than 10-15 years old, with a mileage of more than 1 million kilometers; you will only hear union leaders possibly decrying the risk paramedics, doctors and nurses are exposed to on every mission; or say something about understaffing and overworked staff. At the end of last year, almost 40% of the fleet of the State Ambulance Service in Romania consists of vehicles with a mileage of more than 500,000 kilometers.

“Temporary management of the institution is a temporary state of emergency. Rule – competitive employment, certification of administrative skills, vision, specific goals, performance indicators – management project. Of course, the temporary, who hopes to be extended for another 6 months, will remain silent. The emergency service is an important component of the healthcare system in Romania; it is a strategic area. This is how you suppress institutional independence in Romania by summarizing interim terms; endlessly. This way you guarantee peace of mind,” says Adrian Wiener.

HotNews.ro wrote back in the summer of 2021 that all ambulance service managers are on extended contracts or temporary positions, and some of them have never participated in a competition. At that time, the Ministry of Health was preparing a centralized competition for the positions of managers of all county ambulance services and the Bucharest-Ilfov ambulance service.

In the summer of 2021, the Ministry of Health, which at that time was headed by Ioan Mikhail, published a transparent draft of the order on the rules for organizing and holding a competition for the management of ambulance services. In the last almost 2 years, the organization of this competition seems to have been abandoned.

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All of the EMS chiefs have had their contracts extended or are on hold, and some have never run for office. The Ministry of Health is preparing a centralized competition