A new General Children’s Hospital in Skopje has not been opened

We will open a new General Children’s Hospital with an Emergency Center in Skopje

[SOURCE: Election program of SDSM “Plan for life in Macedonia“, p. 137 and p. 253 date: December 2016]

EXPLANATION:

During the snap parliamentary elections campaign (December 2016) SDSM promised that during the first two years after assuming power, “a General Children’s Hospital with an Emergency Center will be opened in Skopje”. This promise was given by the social democrats in their program: „Plan for life in Macedonia“, first at the beginning of the program in the section “Good Public Health”- Secondary and tertiary health care (p. 137), and then in the framework of the “Plan 24 – urgent reform priorities of the new Government in the first 2 years” (p. 253). Until now (26 June 2019) this promise has not been fulfilled.

According to the given election forecasts of SDSM, the opening of a new General Children’s Hospital with an Emergency Center had a deadline by the end of the previous month since the Government led by SDSM was voted in on 31 May 2017. The fact-checking done by “Truthmeter” shows that by the moment of writing of this article, such a hospital has not been opened.

Furthermore, the same intention – “opening a General Children’s Hospital with an Emergency Center in Skopje” is stated in the Program of Government (2017-2020) in the section “Quality Health” (p.34). However, despite the mentioned commitments, there is no information about an opening of such a hospital or any similar activities.

Among the institutions from secondary and tertiary health care listed on the website of the Ministry of Health, except the existing “University Clinic for Pediatric Diseases” and the “Institute for Respiratory Diseases in Children- Kozle” there is no mention of a new “General Children’s Hospital with an Emergency Center in Skopje”. On the websites of the Ministry of Health and the Government, there is no information about an adopted decision/solution for opening of such a hospital. This information cannot be obtained even through a detailed internet check via Google and the Macedonian news aggregators.

Having all this in mind, as well as the fact that, according to social democrats’ plans, the General Children’s Hospital should have been opened during the first two years of the mandate – starting from 31 May 2019 – we deem this promise unfulfilled.

SOURCES:

• Program of SDSM: План за живот во Македонија (p.258) [Accessed on 26 June 2019]
• Government of the Republic of North Macedonia:  Програма за работа на Владата (p.34) [Accessed on 26 June 2019]
• Time.mk (31 May 2017): Избрана новата Влада на Република Македонија [Accessed on 26 June 2019]
• Webpage of the Ministry of Health [Accessed on 26 June 2018]
• Webpage of the Government [Accessed on 26 June 2018]
• Webpage of the Ministry of Health:  Установи од секундарна и терцијарна зз [Accessed on 26 June 2018]

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