In Romania, bribery has become a national sport. Doctors receive additional motivation for the patient to be treated in hospital and public servants must be eased into responding promptly to the taxpayer in front of his desk. The habit has become so commonplace that more than half of Romanians have learned it.
According to the study coordinated by the Ministry of Health and the Association for Implementing Democracy, more than a quarter of the people who used medical services in the public health system in 2014 recognize that they gave certain gifts or money to the medical personnel.
During the last hospitalization, 37% of patients offered money or gifts to the doctor, 34% to the nurses and 25% to nurses.
Stretcher bearers, guards or lab chemists were not on the list of priorities. Only 14% of patients reached their pocket to remunerate them.
The scalpel holders did not hesitate to ask for more incentives. In about 10% of the cases where patients offered the doctors money or gifts, this was done at their request. This means that almost 4 out of 100 patients could argue that the medical service was conditioned. The behavior was imitated by nurses who drew close to the same percentage.
The main reasons are linked primarily by the desire to benefit from thorough medical examinations, but also to reward the medical staff for the services rendered, not to stand in line, to get the tests results faster or to benefit from admission.
29% of those surveyed believe that a system of insurance to cover for the comfort and attention that they want could be an antidote to bribe. Another 17% of patients will penalize medics who accept these payments, and 15% would prefer more frequent checks of the hospitals employees.
According to the study, to avoid becoming corrupt, resident doctors should earn at least 2271 lei, net, and hospitals surgeons should earn an average of 5600.