Quality of medical care should be a priority for hospitals - Viktor Liashko

Hospitals should not pursue a new name and a beautiful signboard, but the quality of medical care. This was stated by the Minister of Health of Ukraine Viktor Liashko during an online meeting with the participation of representatives of the Association of Cities of Ukraine, oblast centers of Ukraine and the city of Kyiv, where the participants discussed the development of a capable network of hospitals.

“The challenges of a full-scale war have been added to the systemic problems that have accumulated in the healthcare sector over many years and the solution of which was on our agenda until 24 February. Now, of course, the issues of restoring the destroyed infrastructure are being added to them. All this should be regulated comprehensively so that the Ukrainian patient, who is a central figure in shaping the ministry's policy, receives affordable, high-quality and free medical care. This is the goal that we must move towards together. After carefully analyzing the situation, we can see that there are cases when hospitals are pursuing a new name (supercluster or cluster hospital) or the number of packages from the NHSU. However, often in this case there is a dispersion of resources, and as a result, the quality of services suffers, which is unacceptable,” Viktor Liashko said.

The minister added that hospital planning can effectively solve problematic issues: the patient will be able to receive the necessary care on the spot, and in accordance with the patient's condition, with further referral to a hospital that is able to provide high-quality free treatment. Everyone will have a clear idea of which medical institution has the opportunity to provide this or that type of care because there is a guarantee that it is equipped with the necessary professional specialists and has modern equipment. The formation of clear patient routes allows them to flow to specialized institutions, where doctors constantly practice in certain areas, and apply the most modern methods and technologies. This, in turn, is the key to the financial stability of these medical institutions and opportunities for continuous development.

The formation of a capable network of hospitals allows us to define a clear role for each of them and develop appropriate areas of medical care. It creates the possibility of planning human capital at the national, regional, and institution-specific levels. Depending on the role of the institution, the state will prioritize the direction of resources — expensive equipment purchased centrally from the state budget. 

By 1 May, regional military administrations must determine the list of medical institutions that will be included in the capable network, taking into account numerous regional features, a three-year plan for the development of a capable network, and individual plans for the development of medical institutions. Relevant projects must be submitted for approval to the Ministry of Health. After that, the ministry will hold consultations with each region for two months. 

Heads of regional centers shared their vision of positive changes that will lead to the formation of a network of capable hospitals and successful experience in implementing new approaches to the management of individual medical institutions. The mayors of the cities present also expressed their support for the Ministry of Health in implementing this stage of the reform.