A great initiative from Split is welcomed by its citizens.
It would be an understatement to say that the people of Split, as well as other patients of the Split hospital, have welcomed the “Days of Open Doors” project. Actually, they wish the project would last forever. It is not surprising, since this is the unique opportunity for them to do some of the medical tests for which they usually have to wait for months. The project, led by the Ministry of Health, is a sort of culmination of the “Program Plus” initiative, whose main goal is to remove the bottlenecks on waiting lists in hospitals, in order to bring the waiting times to a reasonable level, reports Slobodna Dalmacija on September 2, 2015.
“We are very satisfied with the response of patients, but also with the willingness of the Split Clinical Hospital Centre to offer this program in as many as 13 hospital departments”, said dr. Dragan Korolija-Marinić, deputy minister of health who yesterday visited the hospital departments in Split where the patients were receiving a remarkably quick health services.
Among the patients who did not want to miss this opportunity to be promptly examined by top medical specialists was Ana Malenica who came to the Cardiology Department escorted by her husband Zvonimir. “We have read that today there is the Open Day at the hospital and we immediately decided to come. I am suffering from a heart condition, and this is a great opportunity for me to be examined by my doctor Ivica Vuković. He has already saved my life, and not only is he a great doctor, but also a wonderful human being who always has a nice word and patience for his patients”, said Ana.
Dr. Ivica Vuković, head of the Department of Interventional Cardiology at Firule is indeed a highly respected physician, demonstrated by a huge queue of patients who came to be examined specifically by him. After examining the first two patients, he had already detected a serious cardiac disease in a woman.
“This was the first exam for the patient. She came because she felt strong pain in her chest. We have diagnosed her with a severe coronary disease and sent her on emergency coronagraph procedure. If she did not come today, she would probably very soon ended up in the emergency department”, said dr. Vuković, pointing out that Croats are not very disciplined when it comes to preventative exams.
His colleague dr. Marina Titlić, head of the Department for Neurology, supports this project, but fears there might be a big rush of patients. “You would be surprised how many young people come with neurological disorders and conditions such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, headaches”, explained dr. Titlić, contrary to widespread belief that neurology patients are usually middle-aged and older people.
