Romania’s new regional hospitals, pledged by every government since 2005, still in planning phase

Romania’s health minister Alexandru Rafila recently pledged to build three regional hospitals by the end of 2027. Each government since 2005 has promised to build these hospitals, but they are still in the planning phase.

According to Alexandru Rafila, two hospitals, the ones in Cluj and Iași, are already in the design stage. By mid-2023, the plans are supposed to be complete and construction can begin.

“The building phase begins after the design and plans are complete,” Rafila said,quoted by Digi24. “Construction cannot commence this year, since the plans will only be done next year,” he added.

The National Liberal Party (PNL) and the Social Democrats (PSD), Romania’s biggest parties, promised to build several regional hospitals when they formed the coalition, in November 2021.

However, the number of hospitals varied. The initial promise mentioned7 or 8 such hospitals. In December of last year, PSD leader Marcel Ciolacu argued that4 would be enough. Rafila, a PSD member, referred to three hospitals in his latest statement.

Each government after 2005 haspromised to build regional hospitals. The Tăriceanu government was the first, pledging to build 8 regional hospitals in major cities of Romania. The Boc, Ponta, and Cioloș governments continued the promise. Yet, no brick has been laid, and no project has moved past the design stage.

In 2016, the PSD government decreased the number of hospitals to three, located in Iași, Craiova, and Cluj. The present coalition, which includes PSD, picked up the idea.

No regional hospitals have been built by any Romanian government since 2005, although Romania had the chance to get EU funds worth EUR 1 bln for these projects. Half of that sum was lost because it should have been spent by the end of 2021, according to EuropaLibera.

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