Skopje, 6 April 2026 (MIA) - Six operating rooms were launched Monday at the Mother Teresa Clinical Center in Skopje, as part of a project to reconstruct a total of ten operating rooms worth Mden 282 million. Two of the reconstructed operating rooms are in the Department of Traumatology at the TOARICEC Clinic, two at the Urology Clinic, and two at the Clinic of Pediatric Surgery.

“We will receive a surgical bloc in line with global standards, so our young specialist doctors, who we are sending for training abroad, will be able to work in the same conditions as doctors abroad. This means we are moving up with new methods, equipment and operating rooms,” the head of the TOARICEC Clinic, Igor Merdzanovski said.

Merdzanovski said the reconstruction is being carried out in two stages to ensure there are no disruptions in providing medical care and no pressure on waiting lists. 

Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, who attended the launching of the operating rooms alongside Health Minister Azir Aliu, said the remaining four operating rooms are expected to be launched in the coming months. He added he expects a similar project to conclude by the beginning of summer at the “September 8” City General Hospital.

“Four more operating rooms should be launched in a couple of months, completing the process of introducing 10 modern operating rooms. At the beginning of summer, I hope we will be able to see one more completed project at the ‘September 8’ hospital where we will also have modern operating rooms, which will practically make us the top country in the region in terms this type of operating rooms. There are many things that need to be done in healthcare, but we also need fundamental changes both in the mindset of politicians and the mindset of employees. Healthcare is one of the Government’s top priorities,” Mickoski said.

The Prime Minister congratulated the institutions involved in the realization of the project and said several similar projects will be implemented in the future.

“In the coming period we will have several projects of this nature aimed at protecting the health of the citizens, which is a principal aim of this Government,” Mickoski stressed.

Health Minister Aliu said the operating rooms are mobile and can be installed with telemedicine equipment to enable assistance from outside as well as remote learning, allowing students to observe surgeries while not being physically present in the operating rooms.

“The operating rooms are in line with top global standards. It is a pleasure to see our infrastructure being mapped on global maps of operating rooms,” Aliu said.

The Minister said the Government would continue with new investments.

“This project, which includes 10 operating rooms, is worth Mden 282 million. We are in the process of hiring 300 doctors that will be a part of the healthcare system, because, as a Government, we believe that with good quality and infrastructure we can provide a health system with European quality, and this is one more step in that direction,” Aliu added. 

Photo: MIA