Health Center Powerless: Izetbegović 'Calls Out' Dentists, Inspection Bans Them from Triage

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Sebija Izetbegović, General Director of KCUS, recently emphasized in an interview for Hayat TV's Vijesti, among other things, that the Public Health Center has 153 employed dentists and that all are capable of sitting by the phone and informing patients of their test results, if nothing else.

Following this statement, which caused unrest among dentists and, for the umpteenth time, showed a very strange relationship between healthcare institutions in the Sarajevo Canton, we contacted the Public Health Center, where we were told that unfortunately, more than 300 employees of the Public Health Center of Sarajevo Canton of various profiles are on sick leave.

"Of these, 136 are registered as COVID-19 patients. Since the beginning of the pandemic, mid-level staff from the dental service (technicians and nurses) have been engaged at triage points. Dentists, 174 of them in the Public Health Center of Sarajevo Canton system, are not engaged at triage points, but their role will be optimized in the future by the Preparedness Plan," stated Arman Šarkić, spokesperson for the Public Health Center of Sarajevo Canton.

However, the inspection of Sarajevo Canton has forbidden dentists from performing triage, so it is unlikely that the Public Health Center's Preparedness Plan will be able to assign dentists to that position.

As early as the end of July 2020, following a team inspection, cantonal health and sanitary inspectors, acting on patient complaints, conducted an inspection at the Public Health Center of Sarajevo Canton, and a report was compiled based on which a decision was made by the health inspector on July 23, 2020.

"By the said act, the Public Health Center of Sarajevo Canton, among other things, is prohibited from having a dentist perform patient triage at the institution's triage point, meaning that in the declared state of epidemic, they can only be in a team with a medical doctor and a nurse-technician, if they are not providing health services in a dental office.

In this regard, it was also ordered to engage specialist doctors, as needed, for the timely detection of the source of COVID-19 infection, i.e., for the timely recognition of symptoms of potential carriers of the mentioned disease, preventing their entry into the facility, and thus the SARS-CoV-2 virus among employees and other patients, and to immediately refer such patients to the COVID clinic, under medical supervision," they told Patria from the Cantonal Administration for Inspection Affairs.

They explained that the inspector made this decision to protect the public interest and took urgent measures to eliminate immediate danger to human life and health.

Therefore, Dr. Izetbegović's complaints should be directed to the inspection, and not to the management of the Public Health Center, given that their hands are tied by this decision.

The Ministry of Health of Sarajevo Canton told Patria that they did not participate in the creation of this decision.

"The Ministry of Health did not appoint or engage a commission, nor did it participate in making such a decision," said Amra Isić, secretary of this ministry.