Councillors in Pivdennoukrainsk did not support a petition to the government calling for the preservation of maternity wards in local communities

Pivdennoukrainsk City Council. Photo: NikVesti

Councillors on the Pivdennoukrainsk City Council did not support an appeal to central government regarding the conditions for implementing healthcare reform and preserving maternity wards in local communities.

The matter was discussed during the city council session on 7 July, according to NikVesti.

Olena Petryna, a councillor on the Pivdennoukrainsk City Council, explained that the appeal had been drafted due to the risks that might arise for small maternity wards following the introduction of criteria by the National Health Service of Ukraine.

«If the criterion based on the birth rate remains the same or is raised, our hospital will not be able to receive the National Health Service of Ukraine funding package. Last year we had 212 births, and, as the hospital director reported, the birth rate is falling. That is why this appeal was drawn up,» said Olena Petryna.

The document was addressed to the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Health and the Head of the National Health Service of Ukraine.

In the appeal, the councillors proposed reviewing approaches to the funding of medical services and ensuring the operation of hospitals. In particular, they proposed revising the financial provision for medical service packages in line with their actual cost, applying flexible quantitative criteria when concluding contracts with the National Health Service of Ukraine, to index tariffs annually, and to introduce adjustment coefficients for healthcare facilities in small communities.

The authors of the appeal also requested a review of the criteria for concluding contracts under the «Medical Care during Childbirth» package, by lowering the requirements regarding the number of births and the proportion of caesarean sections, to ensure that maternity wards in small communities can operate regardless of the number of births, provided they are the only such facilities or ensure access to medical care for a significant area, and to amend the Medical Guarantees Programme to take into account the specific characteristics of communities with low population density.

«Perhaps the National Health Service of Ukraine, together with the Ministry of Health, will take our requests into account in future and we will be heard. Moreover, this situation is the same throughout Ukraine. I know that many local authorities are initiating similar appeals, so I ask for your support,» Olena Petryna told the councillors .

However, during the vote, the motion did not receive the required number of votes. Ten councillors voted in favour of the appeal, meaning it was not adopted.

It should be recalled that at the Pivdennoukrainsk City General Hospital, Chief Medical Officer Serhii Lupov revoked his order to downsize the maternity and paediatric wards.

Although it had previously been planned in Pivdennoukrainsk to downsize the maternity and paediatric wards from September onwards due to the medical facility’s financial difficulties.

After the order was shared on social media, the hospital’s director, Serhii Lupov, commented on the situation himself. He stated that the decision was not linked to the administration’s desire to cut back on medical care, but rather to the consequences of healthcare reform, the demographic situation and the requirements of the National Health Service of Ukraine.

However, the hospital’s director, Serhii Lupov, refused to take part in the work of a specially formed group set up to find ways out of the hospital’s crisis.

Furthermore, the hospital is requesting that 8.6 million hryvnias in financial aid, which it received from the local community on a repayable basis, be written off.

We would also like to remind you that the President of Ukraine has signed a decree establishing the Pivdennoukrainsk City Military Administration for the Voznesensk District of the Mykolaiv Region.

On Friday, 3 July, the head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration, Vitalii Kim, introduced Ivan Kukhta, the head of the Pivdennoukrainsk City Military Administration, to the regional council, representatives of law enforcement agencies and military leadership. One of the tasks set was to enhance the community’s defence capabilities.