„This priority is being dispersed among the ministries concerned, assigning certain actions to the Ministries of National Defence and the Ministry of the Interior,“ Krunkaitis told a Seimas Committee on Health Affairs (SRK) meeting on Wednesday.
Although the Ministry of Health (MoH) has previously declared that preparing the healthcare system for potential threats is one of its six main priorities, the order will change.
„Yesterday, a meeting was held at the Government Chancellery to discuss our six priorities. There are discussions on how it should look and where it should be, so it is no longer singled out as a separate priority (of the Ministry of Health – ELTA),“ Jakubauskienė explained at the committee meeting.
Therefore, according to the Minister's adviser, the first step will be to agree on the ministries' accountability zones.
„The first thing we must do is agree among the ministries on how we will work. The process of agreement is ongoing. By the end of the week, we should define how we will implement these actions,“ Krunkaitis pointed out.
Although, according to him, „this priority comes from the SAM agenda“, the ministry has set itself the task of solving the issue of the operation of pharmacies in case of threats.
„First of all, we have to solve the hygiene issues – to prepare and regulate an algorithm on how pharmacies will operate in the event of various threats. Also – what are the interactions and actions of the primary chain? We are talking about nurses and family doctors. We do not have that now,“ Krunkaitis emphasised.
„Also, based on military advice, we need to take an inventory of the healthcare system and target resources to potentially more important medical facilities that would absorb a greater load during case X. We need to have in mind regional hospitals that should absorb some of the burden of the problem,“ he added, listing specific ambitions in terms of generators, water boreholes, heat, electricity and communications for hospitals.
In addition, according to Jakubauskienė's advisor, a great deal of attention is planned to be paid to preparing staff, such as paramedics and nurses, for possible threats.
Jakubauskienė told Elta last week that the Lithuanian healthcare system is unprepared for military, hybrid and civilian threats.