Romanian Health Min Asks Head Of Bucharest Ambulance Service To Resign

Nicolaescu said he would have the head of the Bucharest Public Health Authority sack him if he refuses to quit.

"Following the check-up the Bucharest Public Health Authority made between October 6 and October 15, many deficiencies were found, which determined me to ask the head of the authority Adrian Neacsu to terminate the management contract between the authority and Ovidiu Cismaru. I asked manager Cismaru to resign. If he doesn’t resign, then I’m asking the public health authority to sack him, and to replace him with an interim manager,” Nicolaescu told a videoconference.

The checkup found that the order on emergency medical assistance was not observed, and there were ambulances that had no doctor in the squad. Old cars were used, although new ambulances were available, while some ambulances lacked the right equipment, the report said.

According to the health minister, ambulances showed up with a discharged defibrillator, whichprevented them from saving the life of the victim.

There have been ambulances with ten requests for help, while others had only three, the car keys are not left in the service room, there are ambulance squads that are paid although they are somewhere else during work hours, the report said.

“I consider that the ambulance service manager must resign, and if not, then he must be sacked by the Public Health Authority,” Nicolaescu said.

Ovidiu Cismaru, head of the Bucharest Ambulance Service, told MEDIAFAX Thursday he won’t resign, and awaits the decision of the local Public Health Authority to sack him, and then plans to challenge the decision in court.

"It is obvious this is a tendentious report. It does not refer to having found a specific car or employee with problems, it speaks of deficiencies in general,” Cismaru said.

He added he is not aware of the content of the report, as he heard only parts of it during a videoconference Thursday.

"It is the same with the war between Cismaru and Arafat (deputy state secretary with the Health Ministry – e.n.), Cismaru added.

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