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Bojana Perić, Ekostar Pak General Manager

Recycling is an Opportunity

In the 14 years since its founding, Ekostar Pak has gained the trust of more than 840 companies, with in excess of 798,000 tons...

Novomatic Serbia

Fusing Tradition and Innovation with a Future Vision

NOVOMATIC AG stands out as one of the leaders of the global gaming industry. Founded in 1980 by Professor Johann F. Graf in the...

Pinar Yalcinkaya, MPC Properties CEO

Driving Impact through Innovation and Service Excellence

At MPC Properties, we’ve concentrated on using strategic planning and innovation to maintain our position as industry leader in the commercial real estate sector,...

Miloš Škorić, Gorda Director

Gorda Unites and Connects

“For three decades, we have been working and creating something good – not just for the awards, but primarily for the emotion. We respect...

Ljiljana Ahmetović, CEO Shoppster

Responsible Business is Profitable Business

By combining the highest level of knowhow from domestic trade with our experts who’ve worked and trained on platforms like Amazon, Allegro and other...

Dr Jasmina Knežević, Founder And Director Of Bel Medic

Only Intelligent And Creative People Cooperating Will Save Humanity

We are not a rich, well-organised country with a practise of planning, but our public healthcare sector reorganised itself quickly and successfully. However, the opportunity to maximise the resources of both the private and state sectors was not utilised.

The pandemic has taught humanity a lesson. It has shown that nobody is privileged and that we can only survive if we seek a solution jointly. We thought until recently that there is no health without a lot of money and a successful economy, but now we see that there is no economic progress and survival without healthy people, healthy nature and biological equilibrium.

It was a year ago that the novel coronavirus found us with over 111,000 employees in the public health sector and about 17,000 in the private sector (2018). This is better than the average in the region and worse than the average in the EU, especially in terms of the number of mid-level medical staff, where we have 628 per 100,000 inhabitants and the EU has 1,441.

Over 55% of our doctors are aged over 50. We have a shortage of specialists, especially anaesthesiologists, intensive care specialists and emergency medicine specialists, as well as a major shortage of nurses.

Our hospitals are mostly housed in old and unsuitable facilities, while many new ones have central heating and cooling systems that aren’t adequate for such an infectious virus.

Although the initial outbreak of the pandemic was a terrible blow to the healthcare system, which didn’t even have basic protective equipment for employees, and although individuals and the crisis staff didn’t handle themselves in the best way, with their contradictory statements, now, a year on, we can be satisfied with how we’ve done.

Although it is small in terms of capacity, in terms of efficiency private healthcare system can be an excellent complement to serbia’s state health system

We are not a rich, well-organised country with a practise of planning, but our public healthcare sector reorganised itself quickly and successfully.

Clinical Hospital Centres have been converted into COVID Hospitals, and two new large-capacity COVID Hospitals were constructed in just four months. Public hospitals, as the only places were COVID-positive patients could be treated, were excellently supplied with all relevant treatments for severe forms of COVID, which were provided according to world protocols. Serbia has procured vaccines from all manufacturers and citizens are able to choose, which is a privilege compared to the rest of the world.

In term of what could have been better, I would single out the PCR test, which the private sector was unable to conduct. This resulted in the disease spreading more, because contacts and asymptomatic patients were not tested, rather only those with a temperature exceeding 38°C.

This situation eased with the appearance of a reliable antigen test that could also be done privately. Secondly, the private sector wasn’t adequately included in handling the pandemic. Although it is small in terms of capacity, in terms of efficiency private healthcare system it can be an excellent complement to Serbia’s state health system. A small number of courageous, better-organised private institutions got to grips with the outpatient treatment of COVID-positive patients, and provided a great contribution to the sense of security and accessibility to patients. There was no legal regulating of hospital treatment in the private sector.

Thirdly, there was no reason for COVID-negative patients – at the expense of the Fund – not to undergo operations and diagnostic procedures in the private sector that could not be performed in clinical centres, because they were converted to COVID hospitals. Waiting lists were huge for hip an knee replacements, coronary angiography procedures, stent implantations, tumour surgeries, scanners and magnetic resonance imaging. If that had been permitted, many chronically ill and oncology patients would have received solutions.

The COVID pandemic is still continuing, many lives have been lost, the economy has ground to a halt. Nobody knows how long this will last. All that’s left for us to do is to learn quickly, research new medicines and vaccines, and strive to be faster and wiser than the virus. It is absolutely clear that we should maximally utilise the resources of both the private and public sectors. More than anything that’s come before, this novel coronavirus warns us that trust and cooperation among all intelligent and creative people is the only way for humanity to survive.

By Mirko Dautović

Sailing Stormy Waters

The name of the next resident of the White House will matter a lot in terms of global politics. However, more importantly, the U.S....

Dr Jonel Subić, Ph.D., Director of the Institute of Agricultural Economics (IAE), Belgrade

Using Resources Intelligently

As is the case in many other areas, the greater participation of clean technologies and innovations, optimal use of resources and improving health conditions...

Danijela Božanić, meteorologist

We’re Lacking Plenty

Viewed globally, the state and availability of water resources is acknowledged as the sector hardest hit by climate change. The National Adaptation Programme (NAP)...

Dipl. Ecc. Vesna Nešković, International Relations Officer, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad

Reaching Optimal Solutions through Research

Our response is the ClimaPannonia project, which tests climate-resilience solutions in four sectors of agriculture and scales them across the Pannonian Plain for broader...

Mathematical High School Students Win Six Gold Medals at International Knowledge Olympiad

Students from Belgrade’s Mathematical High School achieved outstanding success, winning six gold medals at the XVI International Knowledge Olympiad...

Celebrating Women’s Entrepreneurship in Serbia: Success Blooms at Cvet uspeha Awards

At the 18th annual Cvet uspeha za ženu zmaja (Flower of Success for the Woman Dragon) awards ceremony, held...

Growth in Industrial Production in Serbia

Industrial production in Serbia in September this year was 4.6% higher than in the same month in 2023, according...

Serbia Joins WHO Executive Board

Serbia has been elected to the Executive Board of the World Health Organization (WHO) at the 74th session of...

President Szújok: Hungary Will Do Everything to Help Serbia Become a Full EU Member Soon

Hungary will do everything it can to help Serbia achieve full EU membership as soon as possible, as long-term...

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk: EU is not complete without Serbia

Poland supports Serbia’s European path, and the European Union is not complete without Serbia, stated Polish Prime Minister Donald...

Montenegro Bans Single-Use Plastics Under New Law

In accordance with the Waste Management Law, Montenegro has officially banned plastic bags and single-use plastics as of this...

Serbia Cuts Shadow Economy by Over a Quarter in a Decade, Driven by Digital Reforms

Over the past decade, Serbia has significantly reduced its shadow economy, lowering it from 29.1% to 21.1% of GDP,...

Claudia Sheinbaum Sworn In as Mexico’s First Female President

In a historic moment for Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum has been sworn in as the country's first female president, marking...

New Portal Simplifies Residence and Work Permits for Foreign Citizens

Establishment of the Portal for Foreign Citizens simplified the procedure for obtaining temporary residence and work permits for foreign...

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk: EU is not complete without Serbia

Poland supports Serbia’s European path, and the European Union is not complete without Serbia, stated Polish Prime Minister Donald...

Montenegro Bans Single-Use Plastics Under New Law

In accordance with the Waste Management Law, Montenegro has officially banned plastic bags and single-use plastics as of this...

Serbia Cuts Shadow Economy by Over a Quarter in a Decade, Driven by Digital Reforms

Over the past decade, Serbia has significantly reduced its shadow economy, lowering it from 29.1% to 21.1% of GDP,...

Claudia Sheinbaum Sworn In as Mexico’s First Female President

In a historic moment for Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum has been sworn in as the country's first female president, marking...

New Portal Simplifies Residence and Work Permits for Foreign Citizens

Establishment of the Portal for Foreign Citizens simplified the procedure for obtaining temporary residence and work permits for foreign...
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