The impact of covid-19 pandemic on Albanian health emergency operation centre

During the COVID-19 pandemic, each State adopted different health emergency strategies to face this new challenge. After the first hospital centred answer, these strategies promoted the strengthening of the territorial health assistance as better response to population health needs at worldwide level. This approach was especially important in the countries in transition, where the hospital systems are weaker. This research aims to assess the impact of these new health policy strategies on health emergency operation centre (HEOC) in a country in transition. Country case study was found to be the most effective methodology. Albania was a significant case study due to its ongoing efforts to align its national healthcare system with European health standards being in pre-adhesion to the European Union. Moreover, this country has recently implemented a modern national HEOC (2018). The data shows that at the beginning to COVID-19 pandemic, the response by HEOC was limited and mainly hospital-centred. In 2020 only 8% of the calls for COVID-19 to the HEOC had an intervention, that was in the 49% a transport in hospital. Medical consultations and treatments on site were only the 4%. In 2021, the issue of guidelines aimed at giving priority to the territorial health assistance brought to a relevant reduction of calls (-64%). It allowed the HEOC to enlarge its response until to give a response to the 34% of calls. The 15% of calls were managed by medical consultations and 18% by treatments on site. The cases transported in hospital were always the 50% but they decreased off -63% in absolute value. In Albania the implementation of national health policy strategies that have enhanced the territorial response to COVID-19 pandemic, relieved the pressure on HEOC by calls’ reduction. In this way, HEOC focused its efforts on the applications of territorial responses instead of hospitalization, according to national health policy strategies, increasing its responsiveness. KEY MESSAGES: • The enhancement of the territorial response to COVID-19 pandemic has eased the pressure on the Albanian HEOC. • The territorial response to COVID-19 pandemic by the Albanian HEOC especially focused on mainly the provision of medical consultations and treatments on site.