Doctors Oppose Employment In Countryside

TIRANA, Aug 25 – The new Health Minister, Anila Godo, threatened doctors with suspension of their licenses unless they returned to their previous posts in the countryside. Most of the doctors have relocated to Tirana, abandoning their previous posts in villages or communes. Large areas in the countryside now have no doctors and farmers are obliged to make long trips to receive medical care.
The minister said the government would try two plans to fill the empty positions. One plan is to sign six-month contracts with doctors. Those trained in specialties in the capital and declining to return to their post in the countryside will lose their license, she said.
The minister said such doctors had agreed to a four-year training in the capital, also receiving their salary, and should return to their posts. This included married women. In a first move, the minister ordered one doctor to return to central Kavaja town, adding that other doctors would follow.
Family doctors working in the countryside also receive a high salary, 100,000 leks per month, compared to half, or even less, if they work in urban areas.
The ministry also acknowledged that the country has a smaller number of doctors, three times less than European Union member countries.