Insight view

10 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE - INSIGHT VIEW
Example: (Un)intentional closure of the Clinic
for Treatment of Infertility and In-Vitro Fertilization
This clinic within the General Hospital in Cetinje, showed great results in this field for years. The successful
work and good management were crowned with the celebration of the birth of the 100th baby
early in 2010. The Ministry of Health did not recognize either the success or the needs of this department.
Consequently, all endeavors to increase the budget of the clinic did not produce results. The
amount of money necessary for covering the operating costs of employees and the continuation of scientific
work totaled approximatelly 100,000.00 euros but this money was not provided, giving “the lack
of funding” as an excuse. As a result, a brain-drain ensued from the clinic, the clinic being presently on
the verge of extinction. Concurrently, new private health institutions were opened in the health services
market, starting to deal with the same problems. An increasing number of citizens address them for
help. The data obtained by the NGO “Circle of Life” show that private health institutions in this field
claimed from the Health Fund over 800,000.00 euros annually for the previous two years for the treatment
of patients, those being mostly referred from the Clinical Centre. The figures witness that in this
way the Clinic for Treatment of Infertility and In-Vitro Fertilization in Cetinje was gradually destroyed,
giving the lack of money as an excuse. However, presently, the several times bigger amount of state
money is allocated from the fund to private health institutions which perform the same services for a
huge profit.
For years, our health system has been recognized as the system with the highest rate of corruption.
The results of the annual survey of public opinion show that the greatest number of interviewees,
almost 19%, hold the opinion that corruption is present in the health system. 9 The
citizens are highly dissatisfied with the work of medical staff, lack of medications, and numerous
affairs. This could mean an alarm that it is high time things changed. The UNICEF 2011 Report
on Assessment of the Safety and Quality of Hospital Care for Mothers and New-Born Babies in
Montenegro, which was concealed and presented to the public only in 2013, shows a horrific
situation in one of the most vulnerable segments of health care. The infections of babies in the
Clinical Centre of Montenegro in 2010 and Bijelo Polje in 2014, unfortunately, only confirmed
the facts from the report. Isolated cases with fatal outcomes became an ordinary practice. None
of these cases had a satisfactory legal outcome.
The lack of medications, particularly those for the chronically ill, faulty equipment which results
in several-month waiting for specialist check-ups, and cases of corruption very rarely have a
legal outcome, thus becoming the image of the Montenegrin health system.
9
Research for the needs of Anticorruption Initiative Administration, conducted by Public Opinion Research Agency (DAMAR),
from 1 until 7 December, using the sample of thusand respondents in nine towns
80