The hospital funding system, particularly in terms of emergency departments, is facing a major imbalance, creating a risk that ambulances could run out of fuel money starting October 1, former Health Minister and PSD MP Alexandru Rogobete warned on Saturday in Deva.

'The situation is dire. Today, we are dealing with a major imbalance in hospital funding, especially for critical areas. I am referring to emergency departments and the national priority action programs that fund intensive care (ICU), stroke and acute myocardial infarction care, neonatology, polytrauma, and severe burn treatment, essentially all critical care, as well as ambulance and emergency services,' Rogobete stated.

He explained this situation arose because the health budget requires adjustments; it is impossible to determine the exact number of patients requiring hospitalization at the beginning of the year.

Furthermore, the former Health Minister noted that VAT, fuel prices, and energy costs have risen this year, yet the Government is unable to make budget adjustments because it is currently an interim administration. 'The healthcare budget is one of the most volatile budgets in existence. Why? Because the number of patients cannot be predicted. Of course, one starts with historical data, but no one can estimate the number of emergencies, mass-casualty incidents, or newly diagnosed cancer cases, and the list goes on. (...) The VAT hike clearly impacted budgets, as did rising inflation and energy costs, which affected drug prices, and rising fuel prices, which impacted pharmaceutical production and costs. All these factors combined led to a faster depletion of the budget; the gravity of the situation is that this interim government, stalled by the ego of a single man, Ilie Bolojan, cannot carry out a budget revision,' the PSD MP said.

He noted that last year, the Ministry of Health underwent two positive budget revisions: a budget supplement in September for priority action programs and a budget supplement for the National Health Insurance House in October.

In the former minister's view, the only solution to resolve the crisis would be for the Government to supplement the healthcare budget from the reserve fund. 'The only solution I see, and one that is legislatively feasible, would be to urgently supplement the healthcare budget from the Government's reserve fund, without carrying out a formal budget revision. That is, provided they are willing to understand and the outgoing Prime Minister is willing to understand that as of October 1 ambulances will run out of fuel,' Alexandru Rogobete pointed out.

The former Health Minister was in Deva on Saturday, where he visited the County Emergency Hospital, a facility under the authority of the county administration, accompanied by the Deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Natalia Intotero, and the President of the Hunedoara County Council, Laurentiu Nistor. AGERPRES(RO - writing by: Sorin Blada, EN - writing by: Bogdan Gabaroi)