The COVID-19 epidemic in Ukraine has shown that medical reform has not been successful enough, and therefore it needs to be amended, as stated by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a press conference.
"COVID-19 showed that the reform had not been implemented. There are normal things that have been done. But a lot of things were not paid attention to. And we found ourselves medically "naked" in the face of such a challenge. That is why I say that the reform should be revised," the President said.
The President clarified that many doctors were satisfied with the first stage of medical reform, which concerns the primary level. Instead, after the introduction of the second stage of the reform, the level of salaries of, for example, ambulance drivers is about 4-5 thousand hryvnias.
"Is this the wrong reform? I think it is. If all psychiatric hospitals and tuberculosis dispensaries go on strike because they are about to be closed, this is the wrong reform. This is unwise. It is not for people. It is definitely not for doctors. It is for no one. That is why it needs to be revised," he stressed.
According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, before closing a medical institution, it is necessary to open a new one with decent conditions for patients and decent salaries for doctors.
