The construction of the regional hospital in Iasi will begin no later than September, as it is the most modern of the 3 regional hospitals, Minister of Health Alexandru Rafila told Prima News. Rafila also claims that he has “clear data” that 3 regional hospitals will be built. A month, as he put it all 3 hospitals will be operational in 2027However, Rafila says, “I would be very happy if we could see at least one fully functional hospital and the other two in the final, advanced stages of implementation.”

Asked if the three regional hospitals would be ready in 2027, Alexandru Rafila said: “I would be very pleased if we see at least one fully functional hospital and the other two in the final, advanced stage of implementation. The way things are going, I think Iasi will be the first hospital completed. If everything is very advanced in terms of construction and equipment, I have no doubt that these hospitals will be operational in 2027 or within a few months of the original date. It is important that they are built, equipped and there is already a plan for human resources to work in these hospitals,” News.ro reports.

A month ago, the Minister of Health declared that by the end of 2027, all 3 regional hospitals would be operational, and in parallel, the Ministry of Health would work on a personnel strategy for these hospitals: “We want to have 3 functioning hospitals as soon as possible, if possible exactly as planned, by the end 2027, and, in parallel, to work on a personnel policy that will provide all the human resources necessary for these hospitals, otherwise, obviously, we do not build for the sake of building, but build and provide medical facilities for patients in Romania.”

Rafial claims that “this time” he has “clear elements” of what “will be done” with the regional hospitals: “I have always been cautiously optimistic when discussing large investments. This time I have clear, real elements that all three regional hospitals will be built. We cannot start digging without a project, unless we mean something other than a large investment. Everyone should understand that the year that has passed since my arrival at the Ministry of Health has passed with benefit, and now the technical project of this hospital in Iasi has been completed. It is necessary to make a technical project, which is a complex project, it is not only the building, it is many other things that imply connection to engineering networks, it is the way in which various equipment will be integrated into the structure of this hospital.”

The construction of 3 regional hospitals was supposed to start in 2017

Iasi Regional Hospital has reached the tender stage: “This technical project is now complete and we are in the tender stage, which we have divided into two parts, precisely to create the conditions to speed up the construction of this building. The works on the development of the relevant territory and the connection to engineering communications are already in the public procurement procedure, and the construction of the hospital is the object of another package, but both packages will be put up for auction and will start this year. At the latest, from our point of view, we have recently discussed with the colleagues responsible for this project, it will be in September, then the actual implementation will begin, indicating that if there are no objections, it will be possible to catch up. In September at the latest, actual work will begin in the hospital in Iasi, which is the most advanced,” explained Rafila.

Alexandru Rafila also spoke about the human resources needed for regional hospitals: “We have created a kind of operational committee, which includes representatives of the mayor’s office, the county council, the Department of Public Health, as well as all issues related to the issuance of permits and which make it possible the construction of the hospital, to be carried out together with the local authorities, at local or county level, in your case, the Municipality of Iași and the County Council of Iași. There is such a team in Cluj. The City Council of Florești is involved in this, as the hospital is built practically in the neighboring district of Cluj-Napoca. We will also add medical and pharmaceutical universities to this technical group, as there are universities of medicine and pharmacy in Iasi, Cluj and Craiova, so that this ratio can meet human resource needs. This is a big challenge for Iasi and for other places. There are functional bathrooms. Of course, some of the current units will transfer personnel to regional hospitals, but the need for highly qualified personnel remains.”

The training of these medical personnel should take place in new departments with high-performance technology that these hospitals will have, added the Minister of Health: “I will give you an example. If the Iasi Cardiovascular Institute is to be built, the need for qualified human resources will be very high and this should be linked to training opportunities, and in addition, direct training of staff should be carried out in these units, with new equipment in these units , because access to high-performance technologies also requires highly qualified personnel. Even if we talk about the trainings organized by the manufacturers of this equipment, the development of qualified personnel, especially doctors, as well as assistants, technicians, because we are talking about complex teams, we are not only talking about doctors in these hospitals, it is also necessary to plan, because “connection with local authorities and medical and pharmaceutical universities is important.”

The construction of 3 regional hospitals – Iasi, Cluj and Craiova – was originally supposed to start in 2017.