The challenges of the healthcare system have deepened for years, partly due to the acute shortage of anesthesiologists.

Now, this situation has begun to change, as the University Clinical Center of Kosovo and regional hospitals have welcomed 25 new anesthesia specialists, who are expected to significantly strengthen professional capacities and directly improve the quality of services for patients.

The Director of the Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Clinic, Ismet Jusufi, said this new influx of staff has eased work pressure, although the total numbers continue to fall below the optimal needs for all surgical wards.

“This has relatively improved the situation regarding numbers. It is not the number that the clinics need, considering their large capacities, but nevertheless we are pleased with the acceptance of the new anesthesiologists. They have already been placed in clinics, and the first effects of improvement are being seen, as the pressure has decreased,” Jusufi stated.

In addition to increasing the number of surgical interventions that can be performed, this staffing boost will also make it possible to administer regular annual leave for the current team, which has been functioning under uninterrupted overload.

“What is important is that most of them have not even been able to take their annual leave for 2025. The heavy workload has caused staff fatigue. Now, with their addition, we aim for at least those who have worked without a break to be able to use their leave,” he added.

With the arrival of the new anesthesiologists, the total number of these professionals at UCCK has reached around 60, forming a key link in every surgical procedure, intensive therapy, emergency management, and other anesthesia services.

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Compared to the population that year of 2.39 million inhabitants, the country has 372 beds per 100,000 inhabitants.

When comparing these data with the latest figures published by Eurostat (which does not include Albania), it emerges that relative to other European or regional countries, Albania has fewer beds per capita than the European Union average of 507 beds per 100,000 inhabitants and lags behind many countries, including those in the region for which data are available.

The regional record is held by Serbia (606 beds), followed by North Macedonia, with 452 (2021 data) and Montenegro (387).

Despite the fact that Albania’s population has shrunk over recent decades, “easing” the burden on hospitals, and the bed-to-population ratio has improved compared to 2014, when it was 296 beds per 100,000 inhabitants, the country continues to remain near the bottom of Europe.

In 2014, public institutions had 8,295 beds, according to INSTAT, and a decade later their number has increased slightly by 7.4%, but the improvement in the indicator has come more from the population decline of 400,000 inhabitants over the same period.

While the population numbers are declining, the burden of illness has in fact been increasing, as a result of the population, adding pressure on Albanian hospitals. Apart from having fewer beds than many European countries, they are also suffering from the emigration of doctors.

Moreover, many regional hospitals have been turned into outpatient clinics and complex procedures are carried out in Tirana’s hospitals, overcrowding the latter.

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