The employment contract of 45 health professionals of the Main Family Medicine Center in Fushë Kosovë / Kosovo Polje was not extended.

Of these, 12 doctors and 17 nurses, while the rest were support staff.

These health workers have been engaged with an agreement between the Municipality of Fushë Kosovë and Caritas Kosova, and their employment contract ended on February 28, while the Municipality of Fushë Kosovë has not yet managed to finalize a new contract with economic operators. as the tender has been completed in the Procurement Review Body, which is out of order.

Whereas, the leaders of QKMF in Fushë-Kosovë say that without this staff it is difficult for them to function and if this situation continues they will be forced to reduce medical services in Family Medicine Centers.

The Chief of Family Medicine in Fushë-Kosovë, Remzi Shala told KP that the dismissal of these doctors and nurses has caused them a lot of trouble.

Shala said that currently they have reduced the medical staff in QMF in the villages where there are fewer patients.

"We are organized with the existing staff to provide health services for the residents of Fushë Kosovë / Kosovo Polje until a temporary or permanent solution is found, we have many difficulties.

At the moment we are 100% engaged with some centers like the number 1, we have reduced it by two doctors, we have made them one, there again the patients are the same.

In the villages in Miradi i Ulët we have reduced them and in Vragoli we have tried to organize them to keep the centers that are larger and QKMF, we have left the night shift the same, but we do not have the capacity because now 100 "We are committed", said Shala.

The Chief of Family Medicine in Fushë Kosovë / Kosovo Polje states that as a result of the non-extension of the contract of these 45 health professionals, both vacations and trainings have been interrupted.

Shala emphasizes that without these doctors, the functioning of palliative care is endangered.

"It is very difficult considering that now there are obligations for medical leave, health, various trainings, all have been interrupted but they must work with these workers and with this staff that we currently have we can not last long…

Doctors, nurses and 45 health staff who have been engaged in all in QKMF, QMF and in the clinic depending on where the need is felt.

They have performed an extremely good service for home care, home visits, for which this project is intended, at the moment it is functioning but with great difficulty, but now we have only 1 doctor who is, even for emergencies, "also for cases in the field, and for palliative care which we have carried out through the Caritas project", he said.

According to the doctor, Remzi Shala is currently managing to provide services thanks to the doctors who are engaged by the Ministry of Health on behalf of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shala emphasizes that if their employment contract is not extended, which expires in June, they will not be able to function.

"Thanks to some doctors and nurses we have from the Ministry of Health) there are currently 9 doctors and 13 or 14 nurses who are also helping us in the regular process of providing health services but the vaccination process is continuing normally, but even these workers have some contracts which run until June.

I do not know if these are interrupted, we can not exist, we must close either the Family Medicine Centers in the field or reduce health care at night ", declared the chief of Family Medicine in Fushë-Kosovë.

Whereas, the Deputy Mayor of Fushë Kosovë, Fadil Krasniqi said that health workers have lost their jobs because they failed to finalize the contract, as one of the economic operators has complained to the Procurement Review Body.

But he hopes that this tender will be unlocked within a month and a half.

"It is true that part of the health workers but also cleaning but also in other areas have been left without work because we could not manage to finalize the contract with the economic operator who has been before as a contractor with the municipality of Fushë-Kosovë, Caritas.

The reason is very simple because we have announced a tender, other economic operators have competed with Caritas and one of them complained at the moment when we had to open the bids and see which is more favorable for signing of the contract and for this reason the economic operator has made a complaint to the PRB and we are really waiting for the procedures when they will end ", said the vice president Krasniqi.

He asked the government to appoint the members of the PRB board as soon as possible in order to overcome this challenge.

"It is a good fortune that within the MFMC we have a certain number coming from the Ministry of Health which in a way has facilitated the work and they will be here for another month and a half, but we hope that within a month and a half the work of the complaint in the PRB is unblocked, because this work should be dealt with by the Government of Kosovo because it is its duty and its body and it should make the selection of board members and review the request because it is intolerable this work if the government does not take the necessary steps to overcome this challenge ", said Krasniqi.

Caristas Kosova also spoke to KosovaPress about the dismissal of these doctors and nurses who have served in the Main Family Medicine Center in Fushë-Kosovë.

Caritas Kosova project coordinator, Pal Baftijaj said that the two-year employment contracts for these 45 health workers ended on February 28, and in the impossibility of a new contract with the Municipality of Fushë Kosovë, these services had to be terminated.

“Yes, it is true that a significant number of health staff have been engaged in providing health services in the Municipality of Fushë Kosovë / Kosovo Polje during this two-year period as long as the Municipality of Fushë Kosovë / Kosovo Polje had a contract with Caritas Kosova, but in fact the contract "We had with the Municipality of Fushë Kosovë ended on February 28 and there is still no new contract for the same services, and we as Caritas can not provide services without a contract with the Municipality of Fushë Kosovë", said Baftijaj.

The Ministry of Health says that the agreement in question was between the municipality and Caritas and the MoH is not involved in this project.

"Co-financing agreements between several municipalities and Caritas have been bilateral agreements where the parties have obligations to each other.

The MoH is not part of these agreements, and if the municipalities and Caritas find a solution to continue the cooperation, the MoH has no reason to hinder them, on the contrary it will support them.

"Beyond the agreements they have with other parties, the MoH has helped municipalities during the COVID-19 pandemic to recruit additional staff for health services in Primary Care, as well as for the vaccination process", said in the response of the MoH.