DOES THE GOVERNMENT SUPPORT IT? Although fully opened to patients, is the General Hospital facing collapse?

SARAJEVO, (Patria) – The General Hospital “Prim.dr. Abdulah Nakaš” has provided 52,147 services to patients in the past 50 days. As of July 18, the General Hospital became the emergency center seven days a week, which further burdened the hospital.

As of July 1, the acting director is Prof. Dr. Ismet Gavrankapetanović, who organized the hospital's work at full capacity in accordance with the orders of the Crisis Staff of the Ministry of Health, so patients with coronavirus who gave birth in this hospital were admitted, and children infected with Covid 19 were treated.

Although with much smaller capacities compared to the Clinical Center of the University of Sarajevo, both in terms of beds and staff, the General Hospital managed to fully open to patients in the midst of the coronavirus epidemic at a time when Sarajevo had the highest number of infections since the beginning of the epidemic.

The director of KCUS, Sebija Izetbegović, has repeatedly stated that KCUS is the only one admitting patients with coronavirus, while the General Hospital does not, but has been paid one million KM for these needs.

Reports sent by the General Hospital to the Public Health Institute of KS refute Director Izetbegović, who actually closed KCUS to a large number of patients. Regular check-ups, examinations, and surgeries were canceled. Only from August 17 did KCUS resume surgeries and secondary healthcare services. How did it come to KCUS closing its doors to patients and declaring itself a hospital only for tertiary healthcare, and who approved this at a time when patients were already having difficulty accessing healthcare facilities, is a question for those responsible for overseeing KCUS's operations, starting with the Federal Ministry of Health. KCUS has a dislocated isolation unit for patients infected with coronavirus at Podhrastovi, outside the hospital complex at Košev, which was all the more reason for the normal functioning of the healthcare system in the rest of the hospital.

Professor Gavrankapetanović emphasized that the General Hospital opened its doors to all patients who were unable to get examined or operated on for months, even in this difficult time.

“The healthcare system has been closed for too long. I have not seen so many neglected cases in 32 years of surgical work. Without the support of the Ministry of Health and the KS Health Insurance Fund, we cannot move forward, and citizens must receive medical services. Declarative support means nothing to us,” said Gavrankapetanović.

At the same time, the General Hospital faced unjustified attacks from the management of KCUS, as well as from parts of the KS Government, which insisted that the hospital also take over the management of the temporary isolation unit for infected patients in the Bjelave Student Dormitory. The protracted saga was ended by the voice of expertise, which clearly stated that there were not even minimum conditions for hospital treatment of patients in the Student Dormitory and that they did not want to take responsibility. Therefore, efforts were made to equip the isolation unit next to the General Hospital.

Through the emergency center of the General Hospital, 5,206 patients passed in 50 days. In the same period, 1,329 patients were admitted to the hospital, and 1,509 were discharged. 800 surgeries were performed (elective and emergency), 251 outpatient surgeries at the emergency center, and 100 outpatient surgeries at the cabinet. In the same period, there were over 160 births, including mothers infected with coronavirus.

To meet the task set before this healthcare institution, the number of staff had to be increased, which also affected the increase in total costs.

During this time, KCUS reduced the number of services, while the money allocated to them remained the same or even increased. However, KCUS is more concerned with the work of the General Hospital than with treating patients who increasingly need healthcare services.

It is increasingly being heard that patients are dying because of corona, not from corona.