After round table in Mostar held on Monday, it was concluded that health care in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is the most corrupt aspect and that 80 percent of citizens give bribes to doctors, but do not report because of fear of consequences sincethey do not trust the protection system.
The devastating data was presented by Merima Spahic, President of the Association for Development of the Society “Kap” from Sarajevo, which together with the Association of Citizens “Stop Mobbing” from Trebinje is implementing a project to prevent corruption and support whistleblowers in the health system in BiH, with the support of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council and the Government of Switzerland.
Spahic pointed out that the data was obtained through research and a series of meetings held in past months in Federation of BiH (FBiH) and Republika Srpska (RS) with representatives of health care, judicial institutions, and NGOs, in order to locate problems related to corruption in health care.
“In all conversations, we return to the beginning of the vicious circle, and that is that whistleblowers have no protection. When they report corruption, their lives literally turn into hell, because they get fired, suffer mobbing at the workplace and the like,” explained a representative of the Kap Association.
“We are very afraid that in this way, not only health care will lose the credibility, its patients, but it is also a very problematic way of work of the judiciary,” told Spahic.
The president of the Association of Citizens ”Stop Mobbing”, Anica Ramic, who went through hell as a health worker because she was the first to report corruption in health care in Trebinje, but got justice in court after four years, noted everyone who is afraid to report corruption to the judiciary or police to contact these associations where they will receive adequate support, as a serious support network is already being set up for such people.
“When it comes to human lives, those mistakes cannot be forgiven and we should react, we should all react together,” Ramic stated.
These problems were discussed at a round table in Mostar on the topic “Implementation of the Law on the Protection of Persons Reporting Corruption in the Health System in BiH”, which was attended by representatives of the health, prosecutor’s office, NGO, and Agency for Medicines. They concluded that public and private health care need to be divided and it should be pointed out to the issue of long waiting lists, Klix.ba writes.
E.Dz.
