Construction of the new hospital in Kičevo began in the 1980s. The first health minister came to see it in 1998, 13 years after building started. Since then, 21 ministers have passed through Kičevo with a promise. The latest is Sašo Klekovski.

Unlike his predecessors, Klekovski at least didn't promise a date. "For the first time we are working with concrete funding - we are not at the stage of promises, we are at the stage of feasibility studies and design," the minister said. According to him, there is a package of 195 million to finish the clinic in Štip, to reconstruct the clinic in Tetovo and build a new facility there, and to build a new facility for the General Hospital in Kičevo. "We have the funds," he says.

But the sentence that says the most is a different one: studies are being done on whether work can continue on the existing building or a new site will have to be found. After almost four decades, the state still doesn't know whether the concrete it paid for is worth anything. Construction got stuck at the bare-frame stage, and the old structure, according to reports, is outdated and doesn't meet modern standards for medical facilities. Much of the millions spent, in other words, turned out to be money thrown away.

There is equipment, but not enough doctors

While the studies are pending, the minister says they are "not waiting" - the hospital is being strengthened right now. Director Maja Cvetanoska Trajkovska lists a new digital X-ray, a digital mammography unit and a 3D ultrasound machine, donated by the municipality. The ministry says 4 medical residents and 4 general practitioners have been hired permanently, and the procedure for another 5 residents is in its final stage.

"Equipment without staff means nothing, and staff without equipment can't work," Klekovski says. True. The hospital operates in poor conditions with staff shortages in several departments, and the doctors and nurses who have stayed in the outdated building are working beyond their limits. If a new building goes up tomorrow - who will work in it? Without conditions that will keep a young doctor in Kičevo, the new machines will just be more expensive inventory.

Mayor Aleksandar Jovanovski says the people of Kičevo deserve a new hospital and that the municipality will keep helping. The people of Kičevo have heard enough promises for a lifetime. The next minister who comes to Kičevo should bring a building permit, not a statement.