The integrated services programme and sterilization of the surgical instruments, an outcome of the public-private partnership, has ultimately put an end to Albania’s legacy of outdated autoclave machines and surgical instruments that caused and spread hospital and post-operative infections beyond the allowable rates, and compromised the safety of patients’ lives.
Since 2016, the integrated service of sterilization and new surgical instruments programme has been introduced to 29 hospital centres countrywide, ensuring a completely new standard at public hospitals in Albania.
Prime Minister Edi Rama, accompanied by the Minister of Health and Social Protection Ogerta Manastirliu, today visited the University Hospital Shefqet Ndroqi in Tirana, which houses one of the 17 new sterilization centres built under a public-private partnership contract, with the reinvestment in new equipment envisaged to be implemented on the seventh year of the partnership contract, precisely this year.
“Today we are inspecting one of the 17 sterilization centres, facilities created under the public-private partnership contract on the integrated service of the whole set of medical instruments, the investment in sterilization, autoclave machines, single-use kits and sets, disinfection of operating theatres, a total of five processes conducted consistently and regularly in the 17 facilities and sub-facilities already built in public regional and municipal hospitals across the country, whereas a reinvestment is expected to be implemented in the entire structure on the seventh year of the contract and thanks to these investments we have ensured safe procedures for any patient undergoing surgical intervention,” Health Minister Manastirliu explained.
In a conversation of the doctors, the government head noted that despite possible wrongdoings in the process of implementing this private-public partnership contract, yet it does in no way affects the tangible success of this major initiative of the Albanian government to revive the country’s health system.
“I wanted to pay this visit mainly to take advantage of this moment that is marred by confusion due to an investigation into the procedure and the relevant company, the possible benefits for the system of any certain individual that might have benefited clandestinely, behind our back and this is certainly a matter of justice, but on the other hand everything is pretty evident now, with the postoperative hospital stay reduction alone having brought about higher financial profitability than the total spending for this process, and the overall cost that is projected for the process in question,” PM Rama said, underlining that the goal of this undertaken process is to equip doctors with the state-of-art instruments, so that they can take their performance to a whole new level.
“The purpose of my visit, as I already told Ogerta (Health Minister) is to also convey a message to each and every one of you, as after the court decided to put suspect for abuse with contract on remand I have received numerous text messages from many doctors in particular, voicing their concern that the contract is suspended and the sterilization facilities are sequestered. But this won’t happen, there is no chance for it to happen, because our common goal and the reason why we have done this is to provide you with high class instruments,” PM Rama added.