President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that the healthcare reform in Ukraine should include an increase in salaries for doctors and medical staff. He said this during a visit to the National Children's Specialized Hospital "Okhmatdyt".
"We have to do it soon. Fundamentally. So that doctors have a desire to work… The first thing the state must do is to create conditions. Conditions consist not only of equipment. Conditions consist of a salary to raise the prestige of the medical profession, to allow our doctors to live comfortably," the Head of State stressed.
Minister of Health Maksym Stepanov agreed that for high-quality treatment medical workers should be provided with a decent salary.
"It must be frankly acknowledged that for 30 years the country has not paid much attention to the salaries of medical workers. They have always been at the lowest level. Thanks to you (addressing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy - ed.), we will raise this salary from September 1. Yes, this is the lowest level we can raise, but as for next year's budget, we must, of course, envisage completely different figures for the salaries of our medical workers," he said.
According to the Minister, a fair salary of a doctor after the internship should start from 20-25 thousand UAH.
The President noted that one Okhmatdyt hospital is not enough to provide high-quality medical care.
"The Great Construction program is not about roads, but about the fact that we are building Ukraine. An important part of this program is multi-hospitals, which we want to build in five or six regions of Ukraine, where everything will be included,” the Head of State said.
He also noted the importance of providing hospitals with qualified staff.
"Not to lose people who work with us - from doctors to nurses. This is the main task of our minister," Volodymyr Zelenskyy added.
