Clinical Psychology specialists, who weeks ago through a public letter sent to the Minister of Health, Uran Ismaili, asked for employment, are now also warning of protests.
The Ministry of Health says that they have taken concrete steps for all specialists, including the category of clinical psychologists.
The Chairman of the Board of the Kosovar Association for Psychodiagnostics and Psychotherapy, Imri Zabeli, says that they received the promise of their employment from Minister Uran Ismajli.
He further adds that they are tired of waiting, while now they expect concrete actions from Minister Ismiali.
"Our expectations simply mean that we are tired of these expectations and already in some form we have remained on the road, then we have addressed a public request to Minister Ismaili, do not understand our public request as any other interpretation, except the interpretation that we need employment and institutions need Clinical Psychology specialists. We have appreciated the commitment of the minister, we are asking that the minister now turns these commitments into concrete actions, the issue of clinical psychology specialists is not complex, perhaps I take into account other specialization professions for the reason that at the country level there is a need for a clinical psychology specialist" , says Zabeli, for KosovaPress.
Zabeli also stated that they have directed their requests to the SHSKUK Board, but the latter has not made any decision, as it has been forwarded to the director of the SHSKUK, Basri Sejdi.
Although Clinical Psychology specialists remain hopeful that they will be employed, they also warn of protests if the opposite happens.
"We are still hopeful that the minister will fulfill the promise and commitment he made, we are optimistic that he will fulfill it. We would not have wanted this not to happen because we have no other option, we are currently unemployed, we can say we are on the street, we have no other option but the street, we have used all the opportunities with requests to the heads of institutions, we have realized all the necessary waiting that the minister probably needed... Finally, we have no other option except to demand our employment on the street and in a public way, our right to employment," he says.
Faik Hoti from the Ministry of Health announced that they have taken concrete steps to hire unemployed specialists, but according to him, health institutions are the ones who decide on the hiring of specialists.
"Upon assuming the mandate, the Minister of Health has promised that I will create the most favorable conditions so that all unemployed specialists, regardless of their health profile, will be employed. In this aspect, there have been concrete steps because as you know a few months ago, the University Clinical Center of Kosovo opened a competition for the recruitment of different specialists from different fields, and in fact they have recruited those profiles for which they have considered in this phase are more necessary. The commitment of the ministry to create conditions for unemployed specialists, including the category you refer to, will continue and it will be the institutions that will look for the profiles they need. It is evident the fact that efforts are being made to improve the material position of the white-coats, and in this aspect, the creation of conditions for new recruitments is also being considered. So it is simply a continuous and dynamic process which will include all health profiles", he declares.
The employment of psychologists in Family Medicine Centers is necessary, says the chief of the Family Medicine Center, Sami Uka.
According to him, the Main Center of Family Medicine in the capital and its 16 units do not employ any clinical psychologists, as this is what the health law says.
"Currently, neither the Main Family Medicine Center nor the 16 Family Medicine Centers that operate within the framework of the QKMF have a psychologist employed. We only have one sociologist employed here and according to the organization chart and bylaws based on the Law on Health of the Republic of Kosovo, it is not foreseen that the Clinical Psychologist be part of the primary health care team. Of course, at a certain stage of the development of the Kosovo health system, it is not superfluous to have a psychologist and other staff who can perform functions and enrich and enrich the range of health services offered in the QKMF. However, at the moment, such a thing is not foreseen, of course, we as health professionals, as family doctors, welcome such an initiative if in the near future there is a possibility to secure a budget and there is a possibility to ensure an adequate functioning of Clinical Psychologists within the framework of primary health care, because it also makes our work easier and provides us with a basis "of better, more evidence-based clinical decision-making," says Uka.
Otherwise, a week ago the Clinical Psychology specialists sent a public letter to the Ministry of Health, through which they asked the Minister Uran Ismaili to hire them, where they claim that the latter was promised employment after receiving the mandate./kp/ telegraph/
