Agreement of ministry of health and Air Serbia enables fast and efficient transportation of patients for medical treatment abroad

Minister of Health in the Government of Serbia Asst Dr Zlatibor Lončar and Air Serbia’s Chief Government Affairs and Relations Officer Branislav Malović signed an agreement on cooperation which foresees that Serbian citizens, who need to travel abroad to continue their treatment, will have full support from the Serbian national airline and free flights to all destinations to which Air Serbia operates flights.

That way, Serbian citizens who are sent abroad for treatment at the expense of the state, and whose treatment of disease, conditions or injuries cannot be successfully performed in the Republic of Serbia, can use an additional, fast and efficient form of transportation to the destination where they will continue with their treatment.

"The Republic of Serbia has continuously made efforts in order to systematically enable all citizens who cannot be treated successfully in Serbia to get medical help abroad. With the National Health Insurance Fund and the Budget Fund, we have sent more than 2,000 patients abroad in the past 4 years, and for that purpose we have provided more than EUR 23 million. Patients and their families can at any moment use financial, professional and logistical help, i.e. the best possible support for treatment abroad, if they cannot be treated in Serbia. To that end, we highly appreciate the support from socially responsible companies, such as Air Serbia, which recognized the importance of fast and efficient transportation of patients and allowed us to count on their support in that sense at any moment, in addition to the transportation services it already provides," Lončar said.

Chief Government Affairs and Relations Officer of Air Serbia Branislav Malović says that the airline has already been a socially responsible company so far, and that it had accommodated the needs of the Ministry of Health, as well as individuals who contacted the company for that type of transport.

"Air Serbia will provide free-of-charge transport for every patient sent by the Ministry of Health, and afterwards provide them with all necessary logistical aid in regard to the transportation. We want to help our citizens reach the countries where they will continue their treatment as soon as possible. In that sense, in the Agreement we defined all rights and responsibilities, as well as procedures that should allow our citizens to be transported to their treatment destinations as soon as possible," Malović concluded.