Bitola Hospital Hired 82 People, but Volunteers' Status Remains Unresolved
The director and the Ministry of Health have initiatives to legally resolve the volunteers' status; the minister promised to inform by August 4.
At the Clinical Hospital in Bitola, 82 indefinite-term hires have been made, which according to management strengthen the institution's staffing, but the status of a group of medical and non-medical workers who have been working as volunteers without monetary compensation since December still remains unresolved.
During his visit to the hospital, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski was approached by a citizen who publicly asked him what will happen to the volunteers left without compensation. The citizen told him: "Their status is not regulated, and they work more than the employees who are on the payroll."
Mickoski directed the question to the director and to the Minister of Health. Dr. Nensi Lozanche said the hospital constantly appeals to the competent institutions to find a legal solution, but that there is no answer. She stated: "They had service contracts that lasted until December, those agreements expired, we requested consent for further contracts or hirings, but we have no response. The volunteers want to come to work, and we must legally regulate their status. They work as they should work in the hospital and I hope it will be resolved as soon as possible; our efforts are continuous, we are in constant communication with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance and the Health Fund."
The Minister promises to inform
The Minister of Health Sasho Klekovski said he took on the obligation to inform the competent authorities and the public by August 4 about the progress of the case. During the tour, the prime minister was also informed about the new investments, equipment and the hirings at the hospital.
The director pointed out that the hospital is equipped with new equipment including a colonoscope, an optical coherence tomography device, a DEXA device and more, and with the help of socially responsible companies a modern entrance has been built. She added that cooperation has begun with the University Clinic for Oncology and Radiotherapy in Skopje, so doctors from there come to Bitola to treat oncology patients, and a contract has been concluded with a doctor from the Clinic for Pediatrics so that services for children with atypical development are provided in Bitola instead of them traveling to Skopje.
Klekovski emphasized that decentralization of health services is necessary and announced that therapy for multiple sclerosis in the future will be able to be received in the Bitola Hospital as well, in addition to Skopje.
Photo: Government of the Republic of North Macedonia)
