It will soon be ten years since the Cantonal Hospital in Bihać burned down in a fire. Although so much time has passed, the fact is that only certain departments have been renovated, while in some, nothing has been invested in the past ten years. This is why the conditions for the work of doctors and medics in the Emergency Medicine Center are extremely poor. But that doesn’t stop them from doing their job to the best of their ability.
Cracked ceilings, broken tiles and rooms without doors are just some of the scenes that doctors and medics see every day at the Emergency Medicine Center in Bihać. These scenes are witnessed annually by up to 40,000 people, along with the patients and their companions.
“It’s really a shame for an institution that the mirror of the house is the interior that we currently have. This greatly affects both the working conditions and the mood of the medical staff. The ceiling is collapsing and every time we expect the last few earthquakes to fall on one of our heads”, says Irma Arifović, head of the Emergency Medicine Center in Bihać.
In addition to inadequate premises, this department also faces a shortage of manpower.
“I don’t know in what way and who is the priority when selecting medical staff, but let me explain in numbers: in eight jobs at KUM, three technicians are currently working in a shift. In one place where 70-80 people pass by during the day, two doctors work 24 hours a day,” Arifović points out.
They say that the hospital administration is aware of all the problems, but their options are limited.
“At the moment, we are also limited with funds and we did not plan to carry out the reconstruction on the scale that was requested. We are looking for a way to carry it out and I believe that by the end of this year we will have a basic solution on how to completely rebuild the Emergency Medicine Center”, says Ermin Goretić, director of the Cantonal Hospital in Bihać.
Despite the poor conditions in which they work, healthcare workers try to do their job as best as they can, and their patients are aware of this:
“I came, stayed for a few days, everything went well for me, I have nothing to tell them.”
“Something needs to be put in order. Let’s say, first we need to introduce conditions for them to be able to work normally. The falling off of tiles, walls and all that, well, it’s the 21st century, should we talk about something further.”
According to the chief, these doctors and medical technicians are each other’s greatest support, despite the fact that others often do not understand this department.
