St. Erazmo in Ohrid to open new wing with four operating theatres by New Year

After almost a decade of delays, the new wing of the Specialized Hospital for Orthopedics and Traumatology "St. Erazmo" in Ohrid has entered its final phase and is expected to be put into use by New Year. The project, with an investment exceeding €2 million, will significantly expand the hospital's surgical and treatment capacity.

Currently operating with one and a half operating rooms, the hospital will gain four modern operating theatres in the new wing, all to be fitted with new medical equipment.

Project completion and equipment

"This is a huge investment cycle and the completion of a stalled project over the past ten years and the commissioning of completely new operating rooms, fully equipped with new equipment. This will contribute to a significant improvement in hospital standards, working conditions for colleagues and the improvement of treatment itself," says Haralampie Shokarovski, director of the hospital.

Shokarovski adds that the ambition goes beyond finishing the building: the aim is to build an institution with recognition beyond the country's borders. "We will strive, among other things, to become perhaps the most reference institution in the field of orthopedics and neurosurgery. The way we are building the path — first technically and professionally, and now with the government's efforts and the support we have — is to become a reference centre in orthopedics and neurosurgery," he says.

According to the director, the investment covers not only construction works but also procurement and installation of new medical equipment so the facility meets contemporary hospital standards. "We expect to complete that cycle in the coming months and to have a beautiful, ultramodern health facility that will meet the needs of patients from the country, patients from the region and neighbouring states, patients who gravitate to our institution because of our pathology. And in that way I mean to become a broader regional centre in the medical fields we cover," Shokarovski adds.

Health Minister Sasho Klekovski, during a recent visit to the hospital, said the contractor has been selected to finish construction and that equipment procurement procedures are at different stages. Klekovski also noted that in just two years the number of hip interventions has risen by 40 percent and that St. Erazmo is already among the three institutions in the country with the highest volume of such surgeries, alongside the Clinical Centre in Skopje and the City General Hospital "8 September" in Skopje.

The new wing is part of an investment package exceeding €2 million funded by the Health Insurance Fund, the hospital's budget, other state institutions and donations from socially responsible companies. The building was initially scheduled for completion in April 2017.

Photo: SDK.MK)