Skopje, 4 October 2024 (MIA) -- Adding prescription drugs to the Positive List of Prescription Medications, sacking economic directors, providing public health institutions with new equipment, and carrying out a procurement procedure for a new medical air compressor station are a few of the achievements Health Minister Arben Taravari listed during a press conference held Friday to recount his first 100 days in office.

"Improving health care for all citizens has been our main priority in these first 100 days as a new government," Minister Taravari said, adding that he and his team were dedicated to meeting the needs of patients and all health care system stakeholders.

Taravari said the Positive List of Prescription Medications now included a total of 87 drugs after nine new ones were added to it. He said eliminating the position of economic director in hospitals has saved the state money. He also announced a plan for employing 600 private specialist doctors in public health institutions. 

To actively include young doctors in public health care, he continued, the Ministry of Health was working with medical schools to develop legislation that would stimulate the best medicine students to get jobs in the public health care system immediately after graduation.

As another achievement, he pointed out the agreement the Ministry of Health had signed with Croatia's Health Ministry to cooperate on health worker education.

He also said that EUR 10 million had been provided from the United Nations Office for Project Services to clean the air in all public health facilities.

"We also made several key investments into new medical equipment and infrastructure in public health facilities nationwide," Taravari said, listing hospitals that were renovated or received new surgical instruments, microscopes, an X-ray machine, an MRI scanner, and other medical devices.

Taravari also said an oncology unit would be opened at September 8 City Hospital to provide therapy to cancer patients.

He said the premises of the first social club for people on the autism spectrum were being remodeled with the support of the Embassy of Bulgaria and the Municipality of Gjorche Petrov. 

"We also launched a special phone number service -- 072-899-001 -- for giving suggestions or reporting irregularities," the health minister said.

"We are also working on regionalizing, that is, rationalizing health care, so citizens can get more services at the clinical hospitals in Tetovo, Shtip, and Bitola as well as other general and specialized hospitals across the country," he said. mr/