HealthMin Pintea: We will continue the "undercover patients" method in hospitals

Health Minister Sorina Pintea stated on Tuesday in Timisoara that the "undercover patients" method would be further used in hospitals, in order to discover any kind of irregularities, not just the possible cases of bribe taking/giving. "We continue. So far, we have 14 'undercover' patients. I don't know yet what is included in the reports that they have drawn up, but we check several aspects, including cleanliness, an aspect that I also did when paying unexpected visits, which, unfortunately, I haven't have time for lately, but I will continue them," Minister Sorina Pintea told a news conference. The Heath Minister also mentioned that she wants to check, this way, the personnel's behavior, but also the manner in which the patients and carers entering the hospital interact with the medical staff, because both sides should be assessed and analysed. "Nobody had been fired, because, if serious cases had taken place, probably, I would have been informed immediately. But we will continue this matter, because, from my point of view, if the duties stipulated in the job description are fulfilled, no one will have problems. The medical act implies the existence of two entities, the medical staff, the patient and the third, the carer. If there isn't mutual respect, we cannot expect anything, because this is where we start of," Minister Pintea also stated. AGERPRES (RO - author: Otilia Halunga, editor: Marius Fratila; EN - author: Rodica State, editor: Adina Panaitescu)