Patients at the General County Hospital Vinkovci, east Croatia, have access to better medical care thanks to new equipment provided as part of a project funded by the ERDF. The hospital serves 120 000 people living in Vukovar-Srijem county, and people from neighbouring parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Better medical treatment at Croatia’s Vinkovci hospital
- 23 July 2020
With new diagnostic and other medical equipment and devices, we have raised the work of medical staff to a high level and ensured top quality for patients in the form of rapid implementation of diagnostics, performed surgical procedures and better accommodation.
A number of departments benefitted from the investment in new equipment and devices, including ophthalmology and optometry; surgery; urology; gynaecology; ear, nose and throat; and orthopaedics with traumatology.
According to the hospital, the project is actively contributing to the delivery of better services and bringing local healthcare provision up to the standards of more developed healthcare institutions in Croatia.
New operating room
A high-class ultrasound device and a mammography machine have been purchased and are being used in day surgeries to produce rapid diagnoses and improve surgical outcomes.
The project made it possible to set up and equip an operating room exclusively for minor surgeries that don’t require patients to stay overnight. It was fitted out with an operating table, lights, and a new anaesthesia machine. A ceiling tripod, mounted with an electrosurgical generator and other smaller devices, were installed, along with a control console which can display radiographic images. This means the hospital can perform more surgeries.
Another operating room was set up in the department of ophthalmology and optometry. This includes a new table, anaesthesia machine, operating microscope and a device for performing cataract surgery. Since the hospital started using the room, 679 cataract surgeries have been performed and the waiting list has been significantly reduced.
Additionally, the hospital has installed two endoscopic systems – one in the abdominal operating theatre and the other in the theatre for orthopaedics and traumatology. By purchasing new video gastro- and colonoscopes, the hospital can ensure rapid diagnostics for surgery, gynaecology and urology.
Boosting capacity and services
Between April 2019 and April 2020, the hospital increased the number surgical procedures it carried out, compared with the previous period.
The increase could have been greater were it not for the Covid-19 outbreak, which resulted in non-emergency surgeries being suspended for a time. In the long term, the goal is to reduce the number of patients being referred to acute hospital departments by at least 10 % by 2023.
Other initiatives rolled out through the project include staff training on equality and discrimination issues. Efforts have also been made to help people with disabilities access services more easily, for example through the promotion of the Braille alphabet and provision of sign language.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Outfitting Daily Hospitals” is EUR 2 202 587, with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 1 872 212 through the “Competitiveness and Cohesion” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “Social inclusion”.