The PSD has submitted an amendment to exempt healthcare positions from the hiring freeze

Former Health Minister Alexandru Rogobete announced Thursday in a Facebook post that he and other PSD lawmakers had submitted an amendment calling for healthcare positions to be exempted from the hiring freeze.

“Healthcare reform cannot be carried out at any cost. Unfortunately, today, it risks being carried out at the very cost of people’s lives. And that is a line I will never cross. This is no reform—it is desperation and recklessness! This morning, together with my colleagues from the PSD Parliamentary Group, I submitted an amendment calling for healthcare positions to be exempted from the hiring freeze. “The amendment will be debated next week in the Health Committee, and I hope it will then be approved by Parliament,” Rogobete stated in a message posted on Facebook.

“We are not proposing a new temporary exemption, nor a memorandum that depends on the will of a government. We are proposing a clear and permanent solution: hospitals and ambulance services should be able to hire staff whenever there is a real need,” the former health minister added.

He also argues that healthcare reform must not undermine the system’s ability to provide patient care and warns of the consequences of staff shortages.

„It’s pointless to build new hospitals”

“It’s pointless to build new hospitals and purchase state-of-the-art equipment if we don’t have enough doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, and specialized staff to care for patients. I have repeatedly called for the unfreezing of positions, especially in critical care units, but these requests have been denied. Furthermore, earlier this year I firmly opposed the plan to cut medical staff salaries by 10%, and the healthcare system was ultimately exempted,” Rogobete explained.

He also maintains that medical staff are currently working at full capacity, and the hiring freeze is putting additional pressure on hospitals.

“Meanwhile, in hospitals, people continue to bear the brunt of the burden. Doctors work shift after shift, nurses care for too many patients in a single shift, and teams are working at the limit of their endurance. Healthcare is not an expense that can be blindly cut. Healthcare means human lives. And it is our duty to protect them. When a patient presses the emergency button, it is not a memorandum or an ordinance that responds. It is a doctor, a nurse, or a nursing assistant who responds. If they are missing, then the very chance at life is missing,” concluded the PSD deputy.