Members of the Faction "Independent MPs" met with the doctors and the heads of medical institutions in connection with the Government Resolution N520.

As the member of the Faction, Levan Koberidze noted, it is important to get information directly from the doctors on the results of the Government Resolution N520.

“It has been shown that patients in cardiology, cardiac surgery and arithmology are devoid of this service, as the estimate presented by the ministry is not in compliance with reality. The Ministry's information as if they were very active in communication turned out to be untrue, since there had been no meetings in the councils with which the discussions had to be held after January 10. All information requested by the Ministry from clinics and physicians was provided at the end of previous year, but the Ministry somehow fails to process this information and make appropriate decisions. The Ministry itself acknowledged that mistakes were made on fibrillators and pacemakers, and even this issue has not been not regulated and no corresponding amendment has been made to Resolution N520”, - Levan Koberidze noted.

According to him, the information obtained from the doctors and the hospitals revealed that the resolution has actually only brought negative effects to patients primarily on nosologies related to cardiology, cardiac surgery, arithmology and, to some extent, intensive care. "Only these areas are on the agenda so far, but the same problems are likely to affect other areas as well, because bearing on the information I have, resolutions are being made on other disciplines as well", - L. Koberidze commented.

Members of the Faction demand the Minister of IDPs, Labor, Health and Social Affairs to come to the Parliament.

“The meeting once again predicated the earnestness of the Minister of Healthcare’s report to the Parliament. She oughtn’t feel shy before the Committees, rather be committed to answer the questions and collaborate on these issues. Since she does not wish to report to the Committee, we - the Faction - summoned her in a mandatory manner and she is obliged to report to the first meeting of the Healthcare Committee", - L. Koberidze reported.

The MP emphasized the reduction of salaries in the clinics. “It concerns the decrease of pay rates. The Ministry is four-months late in paying the particular work reimbursements. As long as we know, some clinics have already cut salaries partially and some of them have announced about the forthcoming cuts amid the enforcement of the Resolution. This concerns the internal costs of the specific clinic. Given this Resolution, in my opinion, optimization is impossible for the clinics. If the Minister of Health thinks she is a Soviet-era minister and can issue salaries for medical personnel by her own order, she is then greatly mistaken. No one can dictate to the clinic how to manage its internal expenses. If the Minister of Health wants to save money from the budget, clinics that do not meet the quality standards should be closed. The Minister would have had the moral right to speak about this situation only if one of these clinics had been closed for non-compliance with the quality standards. I believe that there are at least 30 clinics in Georgia that do not meet the quality standards criteria and this should be the first step of the Minister - the quality standard should be enacted to the inappropriate clinics causing their closure. Closing them would spare exactly the same amount that the Minister is now trying to save by cutting down the salaries of the medical personnel. The Minister does not have the courage to close such clinics and express disapproval with poor quality and squandering of the budget. Instead of the interference with the administrative issues and making the USSR-style statements, I would advise her to look at the clinics that are actually subject to immediate closure”, - Levan Koberidze remarked.