IntMin Dan: More than 11,000 people rescued in 2018 by emergency response teams

Emergency response teams rescued more than 11,000 people in about 430,000 missions conducted in 2018, according to an activity report released by the Department for Emergency Situations (DSU). At the presentation of the report, Interior Minister Carmen Dan thanked the employees of the emergency inspectorates, the General Aviation Inspectorate, the mountain rescue, ambulance services and the ICUs for the success of their missions and the best outcomes. "We are under an obligation to prepare ourselves continuously for tomorrow's missions (...) From the government's perspective, the support that we can give is to identify the financial resources needed for the emergency system. Healthcare and emergency management are priorities with the incumbent government," said Dan. She added that for the year 2019, the appropriations for the Inspectorate General for Emergency Situations (IGSU) exceed 3.5 billion lei, 41.3pct higher than in 2018, and over 11 million lei are being contemplated for enhancing the equipping of the operative staff, including protective gear. "Another priority is the provision of funds for hiring over 600 graduates of the Interior Ministry's schools and continuing the implementation of projects conducted on non-reimbursable funds. Also, for the ongoing investment works 5.3 million lei are contemplated and about three more million lei for acquisitions," said Dan. For the General Aviation Inspectorate, the proposed appropriations run into about 85 million lei, out of which over 25 million are for aircraft maintenance. The minister also pointed out that in 2018, the staff shortage at IGSU level was reduced from 11pct to 9.8pct, and for the first time in the last seven years, the input-output balance is positive, which means that the number of those who entered IGSU is higher than those who left the system. Dan also said that the shortage would be further reduced in 2019 both at IGSU and the General Aviation Inspectorate by the inclusion of fresh graduates and once the competitions for filling vacancies are finalised. Also attending the activity report meeting were Minister of Health Sorina Pintea; Chairman of the Committee on Defence, Public Order and National Security of the Chamber of Deputies Dorel-Gheorghe Caprar; Chairman of the Senate Health Committee Laszlo Attila; IGSU Inspector General Dan-Paul Iamandi; General Aviation Inspectorate General Inspector General Marius Burtan, as well as official of organisations co-operating with the Emergency Department at the Interior Ministry. AGERPRES (RO - author: Daniel Alexandru Florea, editor: Florin Marin; EN - authro: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Adina Panaitescu)