Nikšić General Hospital, as one of the oldest health institutions in Montenegro, has perhaps not received enough attention from the state authorities so far. The Ministry has initiated numerous projects to significantly improve the quality of health care in Nikšić. These are multi-million investments in infrastructure, equipment and staff in the Nikšić health system, said Minister of Health Vojislav Šimun, who, together with Minister of Energy, Mining, Oil and Gas, Admir Šahmanović, visited the completed works on energy efficiency projects at the Nikšić hospital.
According to him, the construction of a new emergency unit, the conceptual design of which has been presented, will be one of the priorities of the Government. He pointed out that the value of the works within the project "Energy Efficiency in Montenegro, Phase Two" MEEP 2 is almost 1,8 million euros.
"The project for the new emergency center in Nikšić is practically in the final conceptual design phase and we have shown full readiness on the part of the competent ministries for this project to be recognized as one of the priorities and to be included in the capital budget for next year," said Šimun.
The Director of the General Hospital, Dr. Zoran Mrkić, said that the conceptual design for the emergency center project was done several years ago, but that it was "stuck" for administrative reasons.
"It was not easy to build the center at the planned location with the existing infrastructure. The point is to overcome these administrative obstacles and, with the help of the Ministries, to build an emergency block, with three or four floors, connected by thermal bridges to the existing Internal Medicine Department and the main hospital," said Mrkić.
According to him, the emergency block will have an emergency surgical and internal medicine clinic with additional diagnostics and triage, a laboratory, and neurology.
"The existing department, which houses neurology, would become an eye department, which also needs to expand, and ultimately the hospital will get what it is missing the most at the moment, at least 10 to 20 new beds, because we are constantly in trouble with the increasing number of people who, unfortunately, the family or social services cannot take care of or pay enough attention to, so that is the hospital, even though it is not its primary obligation. We have been forced to deal with that as well. So the number of beds, efficiency and the introduction of new treatment methods, that is what we will get with the construction of the new emergency block," explained Mrkić.
Speaking about energy efficiency projects, which were implemented together with the Ministry of Energy, Mining, Oil and Gas, Minister Šimun said that the first contract, which related to thermal insulation and replacement of the locks of the main building of the General Hospital, was completed in September last year, and that its value was around 700 thousand euros. The second contract, worth around 1,1 million, relates to the replacement of the facade and locks on the buildings of the Children's Dispensary and the Department of Psychiatry, as well as the installation of a hot water preparation system, two new elevators and new lighting.
According to Šimun, the Ministry of Health, together with the Capital Projects Directorate, is implementing the adaptation of the Children's Department, and a tender worth around 450.000 euros will soon be announced, while works on the adaptation and construction of the hospital kitchen, worth 750 thousand euros, are underway.
"The ministry has also provided a donation for a digital mammogram, which should be purchased in the coming months. The purchase of a magnet worth about one million euros, as well as other valuable equipment, is also planned. The loan should be realized by the end of the year with European banks," said Šimun.
He added that an ambulance was purchased for the Health Center and reminded of the project to adapt and renovate the Children's Dispensary, worth around 300.000 euros.
At the Special Hospital for Pulmonary Diseases in Brezovik, the renovation of the pavilion, worth around 200.000 euros, is due to begin, while the renovation of the Emergency Room, which is currently underway, should be completed in April. A project to adapt the maternity ward is also planned and should be nominated for the capital budget for next year.
Responding to questions from journalists, Šimun said that work is underway to map where and in which cities inpatient facilities for palliative care of patients could be provided, as well as to develop a project to make Meljina independent as an organizational unit, because the citizens of Herceg Novi "deserve better quality and more independent health care compared to other municipalities in the region and because of the location and sufficient number of health care personnel."
Minister Šahmanović emphasized that he was particularly proud of the work of their team in the implementation of the energy efficiency project, and that around 115 million euros were invested in the aforementioned project at the level of Montenegro.
"Great progress has been made and we are shoulder to shoulder with the most developed countries when it comes to energy efficiency standards, which not only relate to savings, but also to improving quality," Šahmanović pointed out.
According to him, with the World Bank, they are implementing four projects, 14 of which have been completed, and the renovation of a certain number of health centers is planned, as well as the improvement of work in some rural clinics.
"The benefits of these projects are best felt among citizens," said Šahmanović.
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