Has been working for 5 years
Alytus City Mayor Nerijus Cesiulis says that it is successful in attracting doctors, the municipality currently has contracts with 16 resident doctors and pays for their education. When the young doctors finish their studies, they will come to work in Dzūkija.
The politician explained why the tactics were changed and 30 thousand were allocated. payment of euros.
“We see that the doctors who came to Alytus have no real estate, no place to live.
Other municipalities give that money over 3 or 5 years, we thought that we give it all at once, maybe it will be an initial contribution for the purchase of real estate or something like that”, N.Cesiulis told the “Question of the Day” program of “Žiniai Radio”.
According to the politician, attention was drawn to the fact that the best medical students do not pay for their studies and the municipality does not have a form of attraction aimed at them. The municipality of Alytus established scholarships for them, which they can use for their needs.
And what does “payback” for a scholarship look like? For example, if it is paid for 5 years, the same amount of time will have to be served in Alytus.
“We see from experience that if a person lives here for 5 years, he buys real estate, usually a second half appears, children and he settles in the region,” explained N.Cesiulis.
It’s true, he admitted that old-time doctors raise their eyebrows because of such an arrangement. They also work, but they don’t get impressive bonuses like the youth.
Doctor: “It is a very sad situation”
Agnė Panavienė, president of the Association of Young Doctors (JGA), said that not only the financial reward supports where a doctor chooses to work.
“No less important is the organizational culture of the institution itself, the leaders. A young person wants to improve, he wants to be able to go to conferences, to raise his qualifications”, explained A. Panavienė.
According to her, conditions should be created for doctors to familiarize themselves with job opportunities in the regions as early as possible. For example, residency practice should be carried out not only in Vilnius and Kaunas, but also in hospitals in smaller cities.
It has become common for doctors to work in several institutions, and patients have to wait several months to see a sought-after specialist. The JGA president also spoke about it.
“Unfortunately, we have to admit that state medicine has a smaller and smaller role, and this is very sad, because people do not receive services in state institutions, they are forced to look for other ways to get to a doctor, to pay for it.
This is a very sad situation and in my eyes it is only getting worse. Very serious decisions must be made”, said A. Panavienė.
Lack of management skills
The interlocutor added that in the context of the European Union, funding for the health care system in Lithuania is extremely low compared to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“Another problem is how we allocate those finances, where we put them. Many problems remain with managerial matters. Elementary things, such as managing patient flows, queues… I myself work in a public institution and I see that 3-6 patients a day do not come, without canceling their visit, without notifying in advance. There is no charge for this, there is no prevention to prevent this from happening.
The private sector handles these things quite well. There is simply better management”, explained A. Panavienė.
According to her, it is predicted that the shortage of doctors in Lithuania will increase even more.
It is true that the grass is not greener on the other side of the fence – it is difficult to get to a doctor even in Western European countries. For example, in Germany, patients sometimes wait 8 months for a consultation with a cardiologist.
It has been noticed that the shortage of doctors is related to another problem – the doctors themselves are overworked and burned out.
“Burnout comes from a heavy workload, because doctors work long hours, up to one and a half hours. The fact that doctors work in more than one medical institution does not add to inner peace.
Going to different cities and trying to plug holes is not easy even for the doctor himself,” observed the JGA president.
2024-09-10 07:42:27