Mr. Prime Minister,
In the last week 4 babies and 5 adults have died in state hospitals. These are not just cold numbers, these are human beings who had their whole future ahead of them. You may wonder what this has to do with you and why you should feel responsible.
The Minister of Health, Alexandru Rafila, who is part of the government you lead and whose work you directly coordinate, could save these lives. Just as hundreds of other people could have lived if the Minister had done his job.
For months, the Foundation for the Defense of State Citizens (FACIAS) has been drawing attention to the fact that, despite having a legislation governing nosocomial infection control, it is not being enforced. We wrote to the Ministry of Health, the Romanian government, and even the European Commission. For the time being, our objections have gone ignored.
Deaths caused by nosocomial infections are an endemic problem in the health system in Romania. And they can be prevented if the implementing rules are issued by the Ministry of Health. More than a year has passed since they should have done so.
Mr. Prime Minister,
After the tragedy at the Colectiv, when dozens of victims contracted hospital-acquired infections, have we really learned nothing? Is the image of a hospital more important than the lives of patients? How low can the noblest profession sink that they value reputation more than the health and lives of those they care for? Four babies have died, their entire future stolen from them by a system that has been sweeping the mess under the carpet for years.
Should saving human lives be made a performance criterion, and then perhaps we would have some hope of progress, even though we are talking about an area in which people who know and respect the Hippocratic Oath are working?
How many more people have to die before we have the implementing rules for Law 3/2021?
The law clearly stipulates a deadline of six months for the drafting of implementing rules, which has long been exceeded. Has it really become common practice for the institutions that are supposed to protect the interests of citizens to violate laws?
How soon will the newly established CNPLIAAM at the Ministry of Health deliver the 'national plan to combat nosocomial infections' that you requested and which is provided for in Law 3/2021?
Law No 3 of 8 January 2021 on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of healthcare-associated infections in medical units and residential homes for adults in need in Romania could have helped if it had been complied with by the Ministry of Health itself.
Please ask the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection to urgently draw up the implementing rules for Law 3/2021, so that it can be applied and perhaps help improve the overall situation in Romanian hospitals with regard to nosocomial infections.
THE FOUNDATION FOR THE DEFENSE OF CITIZENS AGAINST STATE ABUSES