Healthcare for Roma Population Needs Improvement
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On initiative of SOS Phone Niksic, a meeting was held, on November 18, with representatives of Niksic General Hospital, Niksic Healthcare Centre and Pulmonary Hospital in Brezovik.
The meeting discussed the reasons for slow implementation of programmes, defined by national strategies and legislation, for improved healthcare for the Roma minority in Niksic, and possibility for future efficient and quality work. The employees of Niksic’s healthcare institutions believe that the main reasons for bad healthcare provided to the Roma population lie in the underdeveloped preventive programmes, outdated databases and the general lack of proper insight in the health situation of the Roma. The solutions are identified, above all, in continued health education of the Roma population, organization of mobile medical teams that will conduct annual systemic examinations and create reliable medical files for every individual person. It is also necessary to establish cooperation with Roma leaders and NGOs that prepare programmes for the Roma, as well as organize transport to bring young Roma mothers to the Paediatric Counselling Office to be educated. Due to extreme poverty, the Roma population should be relieved from the obligation to pay the fees in all healthcare institutions. The meeting concluded that the priority should be placed on connections between local and national institutions and to define annual budget to solve the problems of the Roma minority. The improved housing conditions and economic status of Roma would contribute to lesser occurrence of diseases, which would be beneficial for the society in general, since prevention ultimately costs much less than treatment. |
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