Chemotherapy Unit in Korçë Upgraded, Minister Evis Sala: Patients No Longer Need to Travel to Tirana for Every Treatment

About 300 patients from the area can now receive chemotherapy treatment closer to home thanks to the Korçë Regional Hospital’s enhanced day chemotherapy facility, which has been restored and furnished in accordance with modern standards, according to Minister of Health and Social Welfare Evis Sala.
In order to bring services closer to patients and lessen the need for frequent trip to Tirana, Minister Sala emphasized that decentralizing oncology services is one of the primary paths of the reform of care for cancer patients.
The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the US-based organization “Albania Fighting Cancer” collaborated to create the new facility, which provides a contemporary and secure setting for chemotherapy treatments.
Korçë is a part of a larger initiative to update cancer services nationwide. In order to guaranty that patients receive the same quality of care regardless of where they reside, the ministry is carrying out interventions at eight additional regional chemotherapy facilities.
The National Oncology Network and the National Tumor Institute, which seek to link local services with the university center and provide improved coordination of patient diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up, will promote this paradigm.
“We are developing a system that doesn’t care if a patient resides in Tirana, Korçë, Shkodër, or Vlorë. Minister Sala emphasized that patients will be at the center of the new integrated oncology care paradigm, saying, “The standard of care must be the same.”
Through the construction of a RIS/PACS system and the use of contemporary radiology technologies, Korçë Regional Hospital is simultaneously enhancing its diagnostic capabilities. This will allow for faster, more coordinated diagnosis and more effective administration of radiological data.
The larger objective of transitioning from a centralized cancer care system to an integrated national network, where infrastructure, technology, and knowledge come together to provide high-quality treatment as close to patients as possible, includes investments in Korçë and other regional centers.