Parliament adopted in the first reading a bill that enables private medical institutions to provide medical prophylaxis, diagnostic, treatment and surveillance services in the oncological field, IPN reports.

One of the bill authors, Democratic MP Boris Golovin said that until recently only the state health facilities could provide services in such fields as mother and child health, mental health and oncological diseases. The changes made to the legislation will offer persons suffering from cancer the right to choose the medical institution where they want to go.

Now, the only medical specialized institution, the Oncological Institute, is overfull. The specialists there work in three shifts and the hospital does not have enough space. By allowing private hospitals to serve oncological patients, the number of persons who need to go abroad for treatment owing to the long lines at home and the equipment that often malfunctions here because it is overused will be decreased.

The Communist leader Vladimir Voronin said not the lack of medical equipment or its overuse causes problems to persons who suffer from cancer, but the insufficient training of doctors who do not know to analyze the test results and make incorrect diagnoses. The bill promotes the interests of a particular private hospital and appeared after the Head of Parliament had a meeting with representatives of this hospital.

Boris Golovin denied the accusation of lobbying, saying there are now at least three private hospitals that can provide oncological prophylaxis, diagnostic and treatment services.

Bill co-author Andrian Candu, Speaker of Parliament, said the persons with cancer or those who interacted with these know very well that there is only one hospital where treatment can be received and there is no choice. “The goal of the bill is to enable the people to choose from among state-run and private health facilities. Now, by the exiting limitations, we oblige them to go to a state-run hospital or to gather money to go abroad,” he stated, adding that everyone should be able to choose and the law should ensure this.