Milovic: Only emergency surgeries are being performed at Clinical Hospital Center "Kosovska Mitrovica"; lack of medications

Dr. Dragisa Milovic states that only emergency surgeries are being performed at the Clinical Hospital Center "Kosovska Mitrovica" because the hospital pharmacy is nearly empty, and patients are mostly being sent for further treatment to healthcare facilities in central Serbia, as reported by Politika.

It has been almost five months since the Pristina authorities, led by Albin Kurti, unilaterally decided to ban the import of goods with labels from central Serbia. This has had the most severe impact on patients at the Clinical Hospital Center in North Mitrovica and on private pharmacies, which have been experiencing a shortage of medications for a while.

Deputy Director of Clinical Hospital Center "Kosovska Mitrovica," Dr. Dragisa Milovic, says that the situation is so dramatic that patients who were previously treated or operated on in the healthcare institution with 400 beds are now being referred to healthcare facilities in central Serbia, which could be fatal for those in need.

As Milovic points out, only emergency surgeries are being carried out.

"Our hospital pharmacy is nearly empty. We have been appealing to the Kosovo institutions, representatives of the international community, embassies in Pristina, the Quint countries, and the World Health Organization for almost five months, but there has been no response. Nobody responds; they act as if this problem doesn't exist. I wonder what will happen if a life is lost due to someone's whim. The lives of our patients and those seeking help from us are at risk. We don't have the antibiotics needed on every ward; we lack cytostatics, even though everyone knows that the lives of these patients are in our hands. Sometimes we manage to arrange for a one-day therapy, and then we direct the families to pharmacies in central Serbia. The patient loses time, not to mention that, in addition to caring for the patient, the family is exposed to a long journey and additional costs," Milovic says.

He emphasizes that Kurti's intentions are well known, aiming for a north without Serbs, but the role of international representatives remains unclear. They remain silent in the face of this situation in the 21st century, where the right to medical treatment for all is guaranteed.

Milovic also points out that private pharmacies in North Mitrovica are nearly empty, lacking antibiotics, medications for hypertension and cardiovascular diseases, and infusion solutions.

He mentions that last Saturday, 18 Italian carabinieri donated blood in the Transfusion Department and brought orthopedic aids, for which the leadership and staff are grateful.

"In all of this inhumane and inhuman treatment initiated by Albin Kurti, although he is well aware that besides Serbs, Albanians, Turks, Gorani, Roma, and Muslims are also treated here, we were surprised and pleased by the news that 18 Italian carabinieri expressed their willingness to be blood donors. They volunteered and came," Milovic says, who also says that oxygen cylinders recently arrived through an authorized distributor, but he cannot predict how long the supply will last because it is essential for all departments of the clinical center.