Professional paper
EQUIPEMENT OF MATERNITY WARDS IN CROATIA IN 2003 Neonatology
Milan Stanojević
Abstract
Implementation of regionalization of perinatal care depends on a well-educated personnel, adequate space conditions and very expensive and sophisticated equipment supply and availability of expensive treatments. The aim of the study is to present the current equipment and personnel supply in Croatian maternity wards and compare it with the previous data and theoretical needs. The data were derived from the questionnaire concerning the equipment and personnel¬ supply of Croatian maternity wards as of January 1st, 2004. Compared to 1999, the number of liveborns in Croatia declined by 13% in 2003. In the Istria and Primorje region the number of liveborns decreased by only 3.4%, while in Western Slavonia the number of liveborns decreased 24.8%. Number of very low-birth weight (VLBW) infants decreased by 16% in 2003 in Croatia. In the Zagreb region there was 1.25% of VLBW infants, in the Primorje and Istria region there was 0.87%, while in Eastern Slavonia, Central Croatia and the Bilogora and Podravina regions the percentage of VLBW infants was below 0.25% in each. Croatia is lacking 21 neonatologists, and the number of liveborns per one neonatologist is the highest in Eastern Slavonia (1:1060) and Dalmatia (1:693). In Croatian maternity wards there is an area of only 0.15 m2 per each liveborn, while one intensive place covers 9 m2 of area in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) and neonatal special care units (NSCU). There are 45 regular incubators and 54 intensive incubators, 50 cardiorespiratory monitors, 92 pulse oximeters and 19 ventilators lacking in Croatian maternities. In the rest of Croatian maternities without NICUs, there is a disproportion of incubators and ventilators in comparison with maternity wards with NICUs: whereas there is a relative shortage of incubators, ventilators are in surplus, which is illogical. There is a substantial lack of personnel, equipment and space supply in the Croatian neonatology. Neonatal care is not formally regionalized, and there is no organized national neonatal transport of critically sick newborns. Significant changes are necessary in order to improve the efficiency and efficacy of care as well as its quality. To reach these goals, equipment supply is just one of the conditions.
Keywords
neonatology; regionalization; equipment; personnel
Hrčak ID:
15608
URI
Publication date:
1.12.2004.
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