They are now offering 1,2 million for dental clinics: The state is looking for an investor for the second time for the adaptation of school premises

The Directorate for Capital Projects, after almost five months, was again looking for a contractor who should adapt the premises in schools, intended for dental clinics, in the coming year.

In the previous tender, there were no interested bidders, and the state is now offering 1,2 million euros for this job including value added tax (VAT), about 140.000 more than at the end of October.

Considering the duration of the procedure, the deadlines for the completion of the works and the work that should follow after that, it is certain that the dentists will not be in the schools even at the beginning of the next school year.

At the end of the year, the Ministry of Health said that they were working on analyzes that should show the amount of funds needed for the business, considering the financial interest of potential investors. They could not specify when school clinics could be opened in schools, although they hinted that the work could be completed by the middle of this year.

According to the data of the Administration for Capital Projects, the adaptation of rooms in 59 primary and secondary schools in Andrijevica, Bar, Berane, Bijelo Polje, Budva, Cetinje, Danilovgrad, Gusinje, Herceg Novi, Kolašin, Kotor, Mojkovac, Nikšić, Petnjica, Plav is planned. , Pljevlja, Plužine, Podgorica, Rožaje, Šavnik, Tivat, Tuzim and Ulcinj.

The return of dentists to schools and health centers is announced from the middle of 2021, and the opening of clinics is first planned for 2022, then for the beginning of the school year in September 2023, and then for January 2024.

In the capital budget proposal for the year 2024, half a million is once again foreseen for this project, of which 481.000 euros refer to construction facilities, i.e. works. In August 2021, the Ministry of Health formed a working group to ensure the conditions for the reopening of dental clinics in primary and secondary schools. The group consisted of representatives of the then Ministries of Health, Education, Science, Culture and Sports, the Ministry of Finance and Social Welfare, the Health Insurance Fund and the Podgorica Health Center. The Fund has also formed a working group to develop an analysis on the fulfillment of the conditions for opening clinics in schools. The analysis was completed in February 2022 and showed that at the given moment, there are 59 schools with realistic conditions for opening clinics.

It is planned to work in two shifts in 11 schools, which means that it would be necessary to form 70 teams consisting of a dentist and a nurse.

In December last year, the Dental Chamber of Montenegro said that it was unacceptable to open school clinics in only 59 out of a total of around 300 educational institutions. Even the members of the Association of Preventive and Pediatric Dentists did not agree with the proposed model.

The Dental Chamber pointed out that it is first necessary to determine the state of children's oral health, as the starting point of the project, as well as to ensure equal access to dentists for every child.

"Taking into account everything that has been stated, the number of children, selected teams and dental clinics, currently 59 in primary and secondary schools, is in no way satisfactory or acceptable from the point of view of the profession", the Dental Chamber announced at the end of the year.

The Ministry of Health said that this is the first phase of the project, but that analyzes will show whether and how many new dental clinics are needed in schools.

Since 2009, the Montenegrin Institute for Public Health has had no record of the number of dental services provided to children, since the reform of dentists to the private sector.

The Parents' Association previously told "Vijesti" that the state, two and a half years after the announcement that dentists would return to schools, did not seriously work on it, it was not planned how the reform would be approached, nor were realistic deadlines planned.

To this day, it is not known who will work in dental clinics in schools. The Association of Parents said that it was promised that the existing system of contracts with private clinics, where children and other categories of the population are referred, at the expense of the budget, will remain in force.

This can be seen from the budget proposal for the next year, according to which six million euros are planned for dental services.