Romania plans to increase neonatal intensive care beds by 30 percent

Alexandru Rogobete, the Romanian Minister of Health, announced plans to gradually expand the country's neonatal intensive care capacity over the next 3 to 4 years.

During a visit to a medical institute in Bucharest, the minister stated that a gradual increase of 25 to 30 percent in bed availability would help eliminate dramatic situations where children with severe problems cannot receive treatment in specialized centers.

The minister noted that the National Recovery and Resilience Plan already expanded the country's capacity by 120 beds since 2022, when Romania had between 95 and 104 neonatal intensive care beds. He emphasized that medical staff should treat manageable complications in lower-ranking maternity hospitals rather than transferring every difficult patient to high-level centers. The ministry says it successfully completed the renovation or expansion of over 36 maternity hospitals using European funds in the last two years.