DOCTORS AND TECHNICIANS NEEDED Gerontology Center and Health Center Lack Staff and Equipment: Users and Patients Suffer

(Patria) - The review of reports from healthcare and social protection institutions at the KS Assembly for 2022 revealed numerous problems in the functioning of these institutions, and the burning issue is the lack of necessary professional staff to work with patients and users. Some of the biggest criticisms during the debate in the KS Assembly were directed at the work of the JU Health Center KS, but also at certain social protection institutions. Some deputies spoke about their personal impressions of the situation at the Gerontology Center Sarajevo, which has almost maximum occupancy of users but insufficient medical staff. These are mostly people who have daily needs for medical care, hospital therapy, or constant care and supervision because they are immobile or have limited mobility.

Devastating data on the ratio of users to staff at the Gerontology Center was presented at today's press conference of the KS Healthcare Workers' Union.

Edina Bahtanović from the "Gerontology Center" said they have 366 users.

"In residential care, we have more than 50 percent dependent users, and the number of staff is very small. We have a total of only 18 nurses, and only 17 caregivers. According to the report from January this year, the residential care had 366 users, and the shelter had 21 users. Of the total number, we have 84 diabetics, 160 people with mental illnesses. We have 180 users who are in diapers, and only two nurses stay overnight. Only we know how hard we try to do all the work," she said.

As she adds, the job of a caregiver in this institution is particularly difficult because one caregiver serves three floors during the day.

"There are up to 40 changes of clothes during the day, they bathe at least 15 people daily, change bedding, have to feed patients, etc.," she added.

She says their biggest problem is the lack of doctors, which they have not had for years; a doctor only comes once a week and cannot examine all users.

The Gerontology Center also has a problem with financing, and the accommodation prices are more favorable than in private institutions. However, the KS Government should participate in this case. If hundreds of millions of KM can be given for the debts of utility companies and the deficit of GRAS, then it is their obligation to help provide a more comfortable life for the elderly.

"We have sent letters to the relevant ministries, but we have never received answers. The conclusion in all of this is that we are asking the relevant ministry and the Canton Government to provide us with funds to hire new employees according to the systematization. We have 18 nurses, and according to the systematization, we should have 35. We should have 41 caregivers, and we have 17. We are asking for a permanent doctor to be hired. We do not have a clinic in the home, we are not allowed to give injections, so we take the patient to the health center. Our janitors, doormen also have problems... People, we need staff, a clinic, and a doctor to try in any way to help the users," said Bahtanović.

She added that the salaries are also not adequate because weekend work is not paid, and for night work, they receive "only 100 KM per month."

Jasmin Avdović, president of the KS Health Union, spoke about the problems at the Health Center, managed by Abel Baltić. The KS Assembly rejected the work report for 2022 due to numerous irregularities and problems in the functioning of this institution, and the relevant minister Enis Hasanović is expected to initiate the dismissal of the members of the Management Board, and then the Management Board to dismiss director Baltić.

"Since February 2021, we have been saying that we are missing dozens of specialists, 200 nurses, healthcare technicians, health engineers... I am only talking about health centers. No one has done anything. We have sent letters and urgent requests, and no one is responding. We have reached a situation where Novi Grad municipality is left without three out of a total of four employed physiatrists because people have retired. We now have 130 fewer employees than last year. We do not have basic equipment for providing the most basic services. We have been taking reagents for the laboratory on loan, without a tender. We don't know what we will do for the laboratory from next Monday, if someone doesn't lend us those reagents. We are missing more than 30 dental technicians, we are losing medical technology engineers because their contracts are not being extended. This should have been considered when the Union was speaking. The previous and the one before that government should have considered this. We have nothing from someone approving a specialization now because we will have to wait for those people," he said.