As part of its project to monitor the work of the Romanian Government, The Foundation For The Defense Of Citizens Against State Abuses (FACIAS) has identified the most serious abuses committed by the current Minister of Health, Vlad Voiculescu.
Thus, through the action or inaction of the institution headed by Minister Vlad Voiculescu, abuses were committed against a significant number of Romanian citizens.
In no case was there a clear assumption of responsibility on the part of the minister or the institution he heads, the only constant being the defiant attitude towards Romanians.
Here are some of the most important abuses committed during the mandate of Health Minister Vlad Voiculescu.
- Lack of fire prevention measures in hospitals. In a 90-day period, eight COVID hospitals in Romania were affected by fires, in which 16 people died. The Ministry of Health has not made public any measures to avoid a repetition of tragedies.
- The Ministry of Health has not taken any steps to hold accountable those responsible for the fire at the "Matei Balș" Institute.
- Abusive discharge of patients admitted to "Foișor" Hospital. The evacuation of all hospital patients in the middle of the night, chaotically and without any warning for the patients, not only raises the issue of violation of patients' rights, but also raises serious questions about the justifications given by the authorities. The evacuation was carried out on the grounds of urgency, but this element is missing from the official communication from the Ministry of Health, which, through the figures presented, does not show a significant increase in the number of COVID patients.
- Delayed supply of ICU beds. More than a year after the start of the pandemic, the number of ICU beds has not increased, as announced by the authorities. On the contrary, in several Romanian counties the number of ICU beds has decreased.
- The separation of hospitals into COVID and non-COVID hospitals has proven ineffective over time. Not only are COVID and COVID-supported hospitals proving inadequate for patients affected by the new coronavirus, but the removal of some hospitals has severely limited access to healthcare for patients with chronic diseases.
- Excessive politicisation by the Ministry of Health of hospital leadership positions. According to the latest information, 66% of hospitals in the country under the Ministry of Health have managers who are in political positions, appointed directly by the Minister of Health.
- The vaccination campaign's synchronicity across the country, especially obvious at the beginning. Most vaccination centres were closed in the early days of the campaign, leading to significant gaps between vaccination appointments and the campaign itself. Then, only a small proportion of these centres were open to official appointments, the others being closed centres where vaccination was done in secret, non-transparent.
- The Ministry of Health has been unreasonably late in paying staff in vaccination centres.
- The Ministry of Health has not developed collection centres for easy access of citizens to PCR testing or rapid testing to significantly increase testing capacity throughout the country.
- The Ministry of Health has not included family doctors and other health structures, except the UPU, for rapid testing and reporting of cases identified in the single platform.