What does the Ministry of Health propose to change in the ATI departments. Rogobete: “We need simple and clear rules”
The Intensive Care Unit of the Bucharest Burns Hospital, Photo: Inquam Photos / George Calin
On Monday, the Ministry of Health put into decisional transparency a draft Order that updates the Regulation on the organization and operation of the ATI sections and compartments. According to the relevant minister, Alexandru Rogobete, the changes are necessary because “a system becomes truly secure only when the rules are updated and respected”, and recent controls have shown that “we need simple and clear rules”.
“The events of the last months have shown us that we need simple and clear rules. While some explain to us why “it is not possible”, at the Ministry of Health we decided, together with the specialists, to analyze all the control reports and come up with firm and concrete changes”, wrote Rogobete in a post on Facebook.
What the project provides
The Ministry of Health proposes a mechanism for classifying ATI departments in category 1, 2 or 3, depending on the complexity of the cases treated and the available infrastructure.
“In this way, we create a clear route of critical patients in the units in Romania and ensure that people get to where they can benefit from the best treatments,” said Rogobete.
All public or private facilities that perform anesthesia will be required to have “at least one properly equipped postanesthesia care bed.” “This measure increases the safety of the patient and the medical act, and the regulation becomes stricter and clearer,” continued the minister.
Medical facilities must demonstrate that they own the equipment they use and have valid service and maintenance contracts, and pediatric intensive care and anesthesia facilities will be required to have dedicated pediatric equipment.
“We define more clearly the duties of doctors confirmed in the specialty of ATI and of doctors from other specialties who hold a certificate in intensive care and work in the wards or compartments of ATI. We clarify the criteria regarding the personnel regulations and define the structure of the multidisciplinary team”, explained Rogobete.
“Medicine is not about one or two people, but about the team, and in ATI the team makes the difference. Through the proposed changes, we introduce new categories of staff: doctors confirmed in the specialty of epidemiology, doctors confirmed in the specialty of clinical pharmacology, pharmacists confirmed in clinical pharmacy, psychologists, physiotherapists, etc. In order to be able to control the spread of nosocomial infections in the ATI wards, we come up with concrete changes: we complete the ATI team with an infectious disease doctor or epidemiologist and offer the possibility of employment an assistant dedicated to the monitoring of infections associated with medical care”, said the Minister of Health, Alexandru Rogobete.
A two-year-old girl died on November 13 in a dental clinic in the center of the Capital following anesthesia. The activity of the Crystal Dental dental clinic was suspended by the Ministry of Health, following the control of the State Sanitary Inspection. The clinic also received fines totaling 100,000 lei.
“Following the checks, several non-conformities of an administrative nature were found, including the operation of some medical offices located on the ground floor of the building without holding a sanitary operating permit”, announced the Ministry of Health on Monday, at the end of the control.
The control report of the State Sanitary Inspection was submitted to the Prosecutor's Office of the High Court of Cassation and Justice “for analysis and the continuation of legal proceedings”, the institution led by Alexandru Rogobete also specified.
