At the sitting held on 28 December, the members of the Committee on Health and the Family considered the petitions forwarded to the Committee on Health and the Family by citizens and organisations, the Committee’s 2010 Activity Report and 2011 activity proposal.

The Petitions and Proposals Sub-Committee of the Committee on Health and the Family had considered 18 petitions by citizens and organisations, as well as information sent to the Committee in the previous period. Committee member Djura Mucenski briefed the Committee on the matter and the Committee voted on each of the petitions. The petitions and information relate to various health care topics, employment in health care, legislation, the work and functioning of chambers etc.

The Committee members went on to unanimously accept the Committee’s 2010 Activity Report, prepared by the Committee’s support service. In 2010, the Committee held 16 sittings, debated 10 bills, adopted 15 conclusions and considered 51 civil petitions. In addition, the Committee decided to send the Report to the Ministry of Health. Within this item on the agenda, the Committee members also debated the Committee’s 2011 activity plan proposals highlighting the insufficient number of Committee sittings held outside of its seat i.e. in Serbia’s health centres. In addition, none of the sittings in 2010 dealt with family issues so the Committee members urged that they be among the topics debated next year. They also proposed the following topics for 2011: senior healthcare, health care workers’ problems and Serbian Medical Society, meeting with representative health care unions, main problems concerning the local self-governments’ capacities to finance healthcare, holding a joint sitting with the Gender Equality Committee to adopt a Declaration on Violence against Women and debate the medical situation of women in Serbia. They also agreed that the 2011 plan should include all items not completed by the 2010 plan.

For the remainder of the sitting the Committee members talked to the Ministry of Health representatives present about the issue of student healthcare and the situation in the Student Polyclinic in Belgrade. The representatives of the Ministry of Health and inspection stressed that the City of Belgrade has the founding rights over the Student Polyclinic, and that they would forward written information to the Committee on the situation observed and activities undertaken by the inspection in the case of the Student Polyclinic in Belgrade.

The sitting was chaired by Committee Chairman Dr Paja Momcilov.