Medical institutions in Moldova are tightening their belts because of the energy crisis and the drought
The actions would be necessary in order to solve the crisis situation, generated by the state of emergency declared throughout the territory of the Republic of Moldova, as well as in the context of the drought that the country is currently facing, the order states. editorial Health INFO asked several heads of stations of the AMU stations, but also the directors of hospitals from several regions of Moldova, what they can save on.
Larisa Nemțanu, head of the Emergency Medical Assistance Substation, LEOVstates that it is difficult to save on diesel, as long as you have to serve the emergency requests of patients.
“Yes, we have such a circular. If we refer to self-sanitation, we cannot say that we can save. The requests we receive must be served, regardless of their destination. Apart from the requests, the machines are not used, respectively, there are no additional expenses. there are strict expenses for servicing requests. On average we have 20-40 requests per day”, Nemțanu stated.
The employees of the AMU Substation also have approximately 40 requests per day, Glodeni.
“How to save fuel in the Emergency? If we save on fuel, it would be logical not to go out for requests. We can save on light, but these are non-essential savings”, said Mihail Cașcaval, head of the Substation.
“It’s in demand, you have to deserve it. There can be no question of saving here. We have over a hundred requests a day. It is clear that electricity can be saved during the day, now that it is summer, but otherwise we have no way to save”. the head of the AMU substation in OrheiLilian Tailor.
The journalists also spoke with hospital directors about the savings they could make, but also about the alternatives they are thinking of in the event of an energy crisis.
“We have big expenses for all the needs. Today we will discuss in the meeting with all the administrative staff to see what we can do. District Hospital Cahul has centralized boiler room. By the end of the week, we are going to conclude the contract with the economic agent who will serve this boiler house. So far we have managed to thermally insulate 2 buildings of the hospital – the Perinatological Center and the therapeutic block, where we also changed the windows. Until September 2, we want to participate in a project for the installation of photovoltaic panels”, said Vasile Rotaru, director of the Cahul District Hospital.
Gheorghe Brînza, director of SR Glodeni, claims that savings are being made in the institution he has been managing for a long time.
“We are already saving. After 23.00 we turn off the light in the hospital courtyard. This does not affect his activity in any way. On fuel, I don’t know if we can. And so we tightened the belt. For example, we have the tests for Covid, which we have to transport to Balti. We agreed with the head of the Glodeni Health Center to meet. One week we transport them, one week they, to save fuel”, said the director.
At the same time, the manager does not know how they will manage if Moldova does not receive gas.
“Our boilers are gas-fired only, they cannot be converted to biomass or other types of fuels”, said Gheorghe Brînza.
Sergiu Vasilița, the director of the “Toma Ciorbă” Clinical Hospital for Infectious Diseases, says that he still does not have a plan for supplying the institution with alternative energy, in case the country will no longer be supplied with electricity.
“People’s health cannot be saved if we want to have quality services. We have been thinking for a long time what we can do, but it is very difficult. The budget is small, the problems are big. We don’t even have an electric generator, we wrote to the Ministry of Health that we need one, and they promised us one.” he mentioned.
The director of the Republican Clinical Hospital, Andrei Uncuta, states that at the moment hospitals, especially municipal ones, which are heated with natural gas, do not really have alternatives.
“There was previously a decision of the National Commission for Exceptional Situations that we do not recommend saving, but that was a long time ago. Savings must be made, but in a medical institution this is more difficult. We are monitoring things, but you cannot take drastic actions. We could save on fuel, but everything depends on the needs of a medical institution. With us, the expenses for the consumption of automobiles decrease every year. We do not have many means of transport. As for alternatives, they are not. Over the years, there have been no possibilities for alternative insurance with energy, there are no such things anywhere. Perhaps for some smaller medical institutions this is possible. At the municipal level, this is not possible”.
The Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development of the Republic of Moldova initiated public consultations at Government Decision regarding the approval of some measures to prevent and mitigate the impact of the energy crisis, in case of limiting the supply of natural gas and preparation for the 2022-2023 heating season.
The project provides for the establishment of the Governmental Commission for the coordination of the necessary measures to prevent and mitigate the impact of the energy crisis in the event of limiting the supply of natural gas during the 2022-2023 heating season, a commission that includes several ministries, including the Ministry of Health.
The project also provides for the analysis of potential risks in case of limitations or suspensions of natural gas delivery by Gazprom (3 scenarios with probabilities of limiting the supply of natural gas in proportions of 35%, 50% and 100% are analyzed).
At the same time, the project also provides for the increase and replenishment of the state reserves of fuel oil for the diversification of alternative energy sources of natural gas, ensuring the population’s access to the procurement of firewood, but also facilitating the import of coal.