The task of the national monitoring centre on health (Observatoire national de la Santé), which is the subject of an impending draft bill, is to evaluate the health status of Luxembourg's residents and work on ways to improve it.
MPs forming the parliamentary commission on health discussed the national monitoring centre on Tuesday morning. Minister of Health Etienne Schneider highlighted the centre's purpose and listed its exact duties, which include examining risk behaviours such as smoking and their evolution. The centre should also provide the government with recommendations on how to improve the general health of the populace as well as improvements to the healthcare system in order to attain its goals.
CSV MP Jean-Marie Halsdorf declared his support for the creation of such a centre, as Luxembourg's neighbours all have such monitoring centres. He continued by saying that it is a necessary initiative, but the institution must remain independent despite its adherence to the Ministry of Health.
Specifically, Halsdorf highlighted the need for the data to be trustworthy and analysed in a manner that corresponds to reality, as statistics can be warped. He wants the centre to be used to have results that give Luxembourg high-quality medical policies.
He also queried the composition of the experts selected to work for the centre, as the law only states that five experts would be selected. Instead, Halsdorf expressed a desire for this to be more specific. As for the Greens, the head of the party in the Chamber of Deputies, Josée Lorsché , stressed that the monitoring centre must not overlap with other institutions such as the General Inspectorate for Social Security (IGSS) and the Health Card (Carte Sanitaire), which is an inventory of all hospitals in Luxembourg, including their services, resources, bed occupancy, and equipment as well as national health needs.
Lorsché expressed a concern that the monitoring centre may overlap with the Health Card, but not in a constructive manner. Instead, both institutions should collaborate and ensure that the quality remains logical.
The draft bill must be voted on by the state council, but should then go to the Chamber of Deputies before the summer.
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