Doctors at Mykolaiv Maternity Hospital №3 and the Mykolaiv Emergency Hospital have not been paid since the beginning of the year

Medical staff at Maternity Hospital №3 and the emergency hospital in Mykolaiv have not been paid since the beginning of 2025. The city health department says they will be paid by the end of the year.

This became known during a meeting of the city council's commission on housing and communal services on 24 February, according to NikVesti.

Deputy Iryna Boichenko, who was elected from the «Opposition Platform — «For Life» party, asked about the wage arrears to healthcare workers.

Deputy Head of the Health Department Mykola Berezhnyk said that the delay in paying salaries to healthcare workers occurred because the contract with the National Health Service of Ukraine was signed later than planned.

«We pay salaries in all our institutions. There is only a problem with Maternity Hospital №3 and the emergency hospital. This is due to the fact that they received an agreement with the National Health Service of Ukraine later. Now the funds are starting to come to the healthcare institutions and we hope that by the end of February they will pay off their debts,» said Mykola Berezhnyk.

At the same time, he clarified that maternity hospital №3 also has salary arrears to its employees for December 2024.

«What we have is for January and February this year. Maternity hospital №3 still had a balance for December, but they have to pay it off now. They have the money on their accounts, and if not tomorrow, then the day after tomorrow, people will get the money,» said Mykola Berezhnyk.

Reducing the staff of Mykolaiv's polyclinics

The idea to cut primary healthcare centres became known in early June 2024. By order of the mayor, Oleksandr Sienkevych, a working group was set up to audit their economic efficiency.

The group included deputies Serhii Kartsev, Olena Kiseliova, Olena Kuzmina, Oleksandr Medvedev, Hanna Nord, Hanna Remennikova, Yelyzaveta Trishchanovych, Vice Mayor Anatolii Petrov, Mayoral Advisor Ivan Smyrenskyi, Head of the Municipal Health Department Iryna Shamrai, Director of the Finance Department Vira Sviatelyk, Acting Head of the Municipal Property Department of the City Council Tetiana Dymytrova, and Director of the Legal Department Yevhen Yuzvak.

The head of the city health department, Iryna Shamrai, told NikVesti that seven primary healthcare centres in Mykolaiv are to be reorganised on behalf of the National Health Service and the Ministry of Health.

However, the NHSU NikVesti reported that they did not give recommendations on optimisation of polyclinics, and the Ministry of Health assured that this idea was a local initiative, not a recommendation.

In general, the centres are planned to be reduced to two or four facilities. According to Iryna Shamrai, this will save the city budget up to 27 million hryvnias a year.

Later, the mayor of Mykolaiv explained in a video message to the citizens that the cuts would not affect doctors, but administrative staff would be laid off.

At the same time, Mykola Kapatsyna, a member of the Mykolaiv City Council, believes that the health department's proposal to cut primary healthcare centres is driven by the need to save budget funds.

His colleague, Olena Kiseliova, a deputy of the Mykolaiv City Council elected from the «European Solidarity» party, is of the opposite opinion. She called on Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych to abandon the reorganisation of seven primary healthcare centres.

Mykolaiv City Council member Artem Illiuk also criticised the idea of reducing seven primary healthcare centres to two or four, which is motivated by the need to save budget funds.

The head of the «Servant of the People» faction in Mykolaiv City Council, Tetiana Dombrovska, does not support the idea of optimisation either. At the same time, MP and member of the optimisation working group Serhii Kantor declined to comment. He considers it inappropriate to comment on the situation until the working group has completed its analysis.

Ivan Smiyenskyi, an advisor to the mayor of Mykolaiv, supported the optimisation of primary healthcare centres. He stated that merging or consolidating a number of institutions into one legal entity is a global practice.

Subsequently, the Secretary of Mykolaiv City Council, Dmytro Falko, said that the number of primary healthcare centres would be reduced as early as 2025.