Unirea Medical Center (CMU) intends to start a recruiting program to hire German physicians at the beginning of 2008, Wargha Enayati, General Manager of this institution, told Business Standard. “We will start the recruiting program in 2008 in the hope that salaries will level off by then.
Romanian salaries are presently three times lower than German ones, compared to what they were 10 years ago, 10-12 times lower,” Enayati said.
Why would foreigners come to Romania? “On the one hand, out of a spirit of adventure, and on the other, in Germany doctors really work. In Romania they don’t, their work is far more relaxed,” added the founder of CMU, who came to Romania at the beginning of the 80s and is himself a German national.
Officials of the Euroclinic private hospital have also noticed this trend. “The exodus of doctors is especially noticeable in the state system. In the private system, things are a bit different, as market mechanisms are functioning. When people are paid fairly, they show no interest in leaving,” said Bogdan Pana, Commercial Manager of Euroclinic.
He added that Romanian physicians who left for France and Germany, are returning to work in Romania at Euroclinic. Tiberiu Roth, General Manager of Hiperdia, feels that there are many opportunities in Romania, since the private medical system is developing rapidly.
“I think it is inappropriate that one would choose to leave when the country is advancing at such a rapid pace, especially in the medical sector,” he added.
In the private system, the salary of physicians starts at €1,000-1,500, according to Cristina Manea, President of the Diagnosis clinic, while salaries at Euroclinic reach €3,000.
The exodus could continue in the coming 2-3 years, and specialists say there is no solution to this problem, owing to free circulation of the work force. Favorite destinations are Spain, Italy, Great Britain, and Germany, where physicians can make €900-1,200 in their first year of residency.
The Romanian government set a stability bonus for health personnel at the end of June, granted once a year in the last quarter, equal to the minimum wage for a certain position.
