Health Minister: "I do not support salary cuts, but I support performance-based pay”

The Minister of Health, Alexandru Rogobete, stated that he does not support reducing the salaries of medical staff by 10%, but is in favor of performance-based pay, correlated with "real work”, results and professional responsibility. The statements were made following a meeting with representatives of the "Health Solidarity” Federation, the Sanitas Federation, the National Authority for Quality Management in Health (ANMCS) and the Romanian College of Physicians (CMR). The discussions focused on the organization of work in hospitals, the payment of guards and the norming of medical staff. "In this context, I have clarified the information that has appeared in the public space regarding possible budgetary adjustment measures. I have said and I firmly maintain: I do not support reducing the salaries of medical staff by 10%, but I clearly support performance-based pay, correlated with real work, results and professional responsibility," Rogobete wrote on Facebook. According to the minister, following the discussions, it was agreed to develop a new personnel regulation. "Human resources can no longer be measured exclusively according to the number of beds. A modern approach is needed, which includes the volume of activity, the complexity of cases and the type of medical services provided, so that the staff structure is correctly correlated with the reality in each hospital," explained Alexandru Rogobete. He also specified that work is being done to reorganize the guard system, which would include three distinct forms: home guard, monitoring guard and emergency guard, each with differentiated payment mechanisms, depending on the level of responsibility and the activity actually performed. "The goal is clear: the rules must reflect the reality on the ground and eliminate situations in which work and responsibility are treated uniformly, regardless of complexity and effort," the Minister of Health said. Alexandru Rogobete also announced that the dialogue with social and professional partners will continue within a working group, to transform these directions into concrete measures, with a real impact on the organization of medical activity and on the quality of services provided to patients.