CNAS head: Almost 20% of Romania's family doctors are over 70 of age

Almost 20% of family doctors are over 70 of age, president of the National Health Insurance Office (CNAS) Valeria Herdea told a specialist debate on Monday, noting that there are many localities, especially in rural areas, that do not have family doctors at all.According to her, although generations of doctors finish their residency or specialization, they do not choose to practice in rural areas."Another problem we are facing is the outpatient care. There are a lot of vacant positions. (...) It's the same situation as with pediatrics, we have over 250 localities with 80 hospitals that do not have a pediatrician. This a serious issue. (...) It also affects the surroundings of Bucharest, Ilfov County has areas not covered by doctors, and it also has areas not covered by family doctors, or by outpatient doctors," the CNAS president told the debate on access to medical services in Romania organized by Save the Children Romania.Valeria Herdea also said that in the coming years hospital addressability will increase.The organization's executive president, Gabriela Alexandrescu, said that over 300 communes in Romania have no family doctor."Only 47% of Romanian localities have a sufficient number of doctors for their respective population. (...) We see that in Romania per capita health spending is 1,600 euros, compared to the EU average of 3,684 euros. The number of inhabitants per one family doctor is by 50% higher in rural areas compared to urban areas - 2,300 compared to 1,157, and more than a quarter of Romanians living in the countryside do not have coverage through social health insurance," Alexandrescu argued.In her turn, the president of the Bucharest-Ilfov Family Physicians Association, Sandra Alexiu, said that the declining number of family doctors is a worrisome phenomenon."Lately, the shortage of family doctors has been increasingly in the focus of attention. Let us not forget that we went from 13,000 - 14,000 or so and reached 9,200 in total in Romania, which marks a visible deficit not only in rural areas, but in cities too. (...) Today, we are facing a very large deficit of fellow family doctors," Alexiu pointed out.