Odesa: Reorganization of hospitals postponed – healthcare facilities did not meet the deadline set by the National Health Service of Ukraine; the city will cover the difference.
In Odesa, the reorganization of municipal healthcare facilities has been postponed: deputies were unable to approve the transfer documents and registration of new legal entities by October 15 – the deadline for submitting applications for packages from the National Health Service of Ukraine (НСЗУ). Hospitals will enter into contracts with НСЗУ under the old structure, and therefore will not receive higher coefficients, while the difference and basic needs will be covered by the municipal budget. The issue is planned to be revisited in February, and the completion of the procedures may be delayed until the second half of the year.
In Odesa, the reorganization of municipal medical institutions was not completed by October 15 – the deadline for submitting applications for packages of medical services from the National Health Service of Ukraine. The reason is that municipal deputies did not timely approve transfer documents and the registration of new legal entities, making it legally impossible to complete the consolidation by this date.
According to a member of the city council, deputy chairman of the standing committee on health issues, Андрей Вагапов, the council is expected to resume discussions on reorganization only in February of next year, and the actual completion of all procedures and the signing of new contracts may take until the second half of the year.
Due to the postponement, the city will continue to finance hospitals and clinics from the municipal budget, while healthcare facilities are required to contract with the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU) within their existing structures. According to Vagaopov, if a small institution currently receives funds based on a coefficient of 0,9, then after reorganization, the coefficient for individual service packages could increase to 1,6–2; for example, the funding for a clinic could increase from 9 million UAH to 15–25 million UAH, depending on the packages agreed upon. Until the merger is completed, hospitals will lose the opportunity to receive larger payments from the National Health Service of Ukraine next year, and the difference and basic needs of Odesa will have to be covered by the city budget.
Increasing salaries for doctors and medical staff is one of the potential benefits of the reorganization, but it directly depends on the amount of funds in contracts with the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU), so the deadlines for this are also being postponed due to the delay in the merger. The director of the Primary Health Care Center No. 3, Serhiy Horishchak, noted that additional funding would allow for a review of salaries, as well as the allocation of funds for staff training and the development of medical services. However, without signing new contracts and understanding the actual income, it is currently impossible to calculate the specific savings or the possible amount of salary increases.
The plan is not to reduce the number of medical staff: the optimization will only affect administrative positions that are redundant, for example, after the merger of two medical facilities, it may not be necessary to have two directors or two senior nurses. Additional funds from the National Health Service of Ukraine, after the reorganization, are also planned to be used for the purchase of new equipment, the development of rehabilitation, and staff training.