Prishtina, 11 August, 2023
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti and the Minister of Health, Arben Vitia, visited the Oncology Clinic at KKUK to see closely the works that have begun related to the investments that will radically transform this clinic.
Today, the new apparatus for radiation therapy of the latest generation has also been put into operation, before the planned deadline, in which case by the end of the year, the waiting lists for radiotherapy will be completely eliminated, as well as the quality will be improved. of radiotherapy treatment. This is the second radiation therapy machine that has been provided to be available to oncology services.
During this visit, Prime Minister Kurti spoke about the importance of the functionalization of this apparatus, the second of its kind, and about the attention that the government has given to health with this year’s budget, with which it has increased by 50% and within which about 60 million euros have been allocated for the essential list of medicines.
“In the Institute of Oncology, there are a total of 24 doctors working here, there are also 6 physicists and 40 nurses. We thanked all of them for the great work they are doing and not only that, but at the same time they managed to do the installation in record time and the assembly of this device, i.e. the second accelerator, from which all patients will benefit. Until now, the waiting time has been six to eight weeks, while according to director Ilir Kurtishi, this time will most likely come to zero within this year”, declared Prime Minister Kurti.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Health, Arben Vitia, said that the immediate interventions at the Oncology Clinic were of an emergency nature. According to him, with the start of the work of the new apparatus for radiation therapy, the waiting list is expected to disappear completely by the end of the year. With the new accelerator, focusing ionizing rays on tissues is safe for the body and improves the quality of radiotherapy treatment. Thanks to the specifications of the new accelerator, many patients will not need to go abroad for treatment.
“With the latest generation accelerator, the health staff of the oncology service will have the opportunity to apply the most modern techniques to patients and increase the volume of work. The new accelerator worth 1 million 444 thousand euros is an advanced apparatus at the service of citizens. By the end of the year, there will be no more waiting lists for patients of this clinic. As you have been informed, in the Regional Hospital of Prizren, the provision of services for Oncology patients has started, while plans have been made for the decentralization of some services in other regional hospitals. Also, with the signing of new contracts for nurses, the capacities of the professional health staff that will be available to patients have been increased”, said Minister Vitia.
The Oncology Clinic at KKUK is the only health institution in our country that offers specific services for patients with malignant diseases. During the past year, a total of 348 patients were laid up in the Oncology Clinic, in 12 beds, who had 2,348 days of treatment. 47 thousand 351 ambulatory visits were carried out, 32 thousand 272 cytostatic therapies were offered and 1 thousand 736 citizens were treated as new cases of malignant diseases.
Prime Minister Kurti’s complete statement after the end of the visit:
Good day everyone!
Thank you very much for coming to follow our visit to the Oncology Institute.
I am here with the Minister of Health, Dr. Arben Vitia, with the director of Oncology, Dr. Ilir Kurtishaj, and also with the director of the Clinical – University Hospital Service of Kosovo, Elvir Azizi. We came to inaugurate the second linac accelerator, which is the most modern technology that uses ionizing radiation as part of radiotherapy, with maximum precision in fighting tumors, without damaging other surrounding tissues. What is new in this device is the fact that this latest technology adapts to the surface of the tumor and in this way manages not to cause collateral damage. A total of 24 doctors, 6 physicists and 40 nurses work here at the Oncology Institute. We thanked all of them for the great work they are doing, and not only that, but at the same time in record time they managed to install and assemble this device, i.e. the second accelerator, which will benefit all patients. Until now, the waiting time has been six to eight weeks, however, according to the director Ilir Kurtishi, this time will most likely come to zero within this year. So from six to eight weeks, what was the waiting time in the patient lists, now such lists will no longer be there, very soon in a matter of a few months because we also have the second accelerator. Its value is 1 million and 444 thousand euros and we will continue to support our health personnel who work with maximum dedication, piety, professionalism, and responsibility for all patients who come here.
At the same time, it is evident that our commitment to health, which was expressed in the budget for 2023, is being continued concretely with these types of investments.
You all know that the budget for health has been raised by 50 percent, it is 300 million euros and 1/5, about 60 million euros, is dedicated to the essential list of medicines.
Therefore, our visit is also a visit to congratulate them, to express our gratitude and thanks to the doctors, nurses and physicists, but at the same time to show our commitment that we will continue with these investments in the future. For six months, the plan was to install and assemble the second accelerator, and it was done in three months and nine days. What was planned for 6 months was done in three months and 9 days.
Last modified: August 11, 2023