The civil organizations that, since the declaration of the pandemic, have been directly cooperating and helping the residents of Šuto Orizari Municipality are seriously concerned about the lack of basic health care for 4,000 adults and 1,200 children in this municipality. Therefore, they re-address the requests to the Ministry of Health, Minister Venko Filipče and the Health Insurance Fund for implementation of the following:
- Urgent procedure for the appointment of new family doctors in the municipality of Šuto Orizari who will provide primary health care to all citizens who, due to the retirement of two family doctors, have not had a family doctor for almost 2 months;
- Urgent procedure for the appointment of a paediatrician for the primary health care needs of at least 1,200 children, who are left without basic health care due to the retirement of the doctor who performed this activity;
- Urgent submission of forms for Selected doctor to the existing family doctors working in the municipality, in order to ensure the registration of a part of these 4,000 citizens who do not have basic health care;
- Provision of minimum conditions for adequate functioning of the Šuto Orizari Polyclinic with the immediate appointment of a manager who will organize the operation of the polyclinic in accordance with the needs of the citizens.
WE APPEAL that the competent institutions no longer ignore the health of the citizens of Šuto Orizari and we ask that they urgently ensure their health care, especially in the midst of the third wave of the spread of the infection with Covid-19, which has life-threatening consequences for citizens who do not have adequate health care.
We remind you, that the citizens of the municipality of Šuto Orizari, as early as 2020, raised the alarm about the problems and challenges they faced in accessing health care. Namely, after several departures of family doctors in 2020, the problem is deepened at the beginning of 2021 after the retirement of two family doctors who provided primary health care for almost 4,000 adults, and a doctor who took care of the health of 1,200 children. This situation allows only a small number of citizens from the Municipality of Šuto Orizari to register with the existing family doctors in Šuto Orizari.
The rest are denied the basic right to health care because:
- The existing family doctors have reached the limit of patients, which is why they can accept only a limited number of new patients and are not able to provide health care of adequate quality for a larger number of citizens;
- After the retirement of the only doctor who provided health care for children, only 250 children are registered in the Intergin polyclinic, while the rest remain without the right to basic health care;
- For a long period of time, family doctors do not receive forms for the Selected Doctor because the Health Insurance Fund does not deliver them, which is why the few citizens for whom the existing family doctors were ready to register, do not have the opportunity without a form for a chosen doctor;
- The on-call service at the Šuto Orizari polyclinic has a shortage of doctors, which is why this service on weekends functions differently, that is, sometimes there is an on-call service, but very often the on-call ambulance does not work.
We are additionally concerned that in the coming period, other doctors who provide health care in the municipality of Šuto Orizari will retire, and in the entire territory of the municipality after 5 p.m., except for one doctor and two nurses, there is no other medical staff in Intergin Polyclinic.
Let’s not forget, that the right to health is a basic human right, guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of North Macedonia and ratified by international conventions and principles, such as the International Charter of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which stipulates that each signatory state undertakes steps towards providing sufficient resources for realizing the right to health and health care.
If we look at the situation in the municipality of Šuto Orizari, in the middle of a pandemic, where cases of sick children and adults are recorded daily who are rejected and are not given the necessary health care, we will, unfortunately, conclude that fundamental human rights are not being fulfilled. Moreover, family doctors, in addition to providing health services at the primary level of preventive and curative activity, represent a “doorway” in the entire health system. Since 4,000 adult residents and 1,200 children of Šuto Orizari do not have a family doctor, the conclusion is that they are denied the right to equal access to use health care at all levels. In case of infection with Covid-19, these citizens do not even have access to the services of family doctors in the referral and follow-up of persons suffering from Covid-19 at home in the midst of the pandemic.
We are concerned that without immediate action from the competent institutions and provision of basic health care, this will leave long-term consequences for the health of the population of the Municipality of Šuto Orizari. Elderly people, small children, people with chronic diseases and other vulnerable groups of the population will be especially affected.
Improvement of the conditions for health care of the citizens of the Municipality of Shuto Orizari is demanded by the following CSOs:
- Foundation Open Society – Macedonia
- Association of citizens – Initiative for the development and inclusion of communities – IRIZ
- Romano Chachipe
- Women’s Initiative by Šuto Orizari
- PET Station, Prilep
- KHAM, Delchevo
- NRC, Kumanovo,
- LIL, Skopje
- SUN, Tetovo
- ESE, Skopje
- HERA, Skopje
- Foundation for debate and education IDEA Southeast Europe, Skopje
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19 March 2021