The situation has worsened since December 2025 when 10 operating rooms were closed at the Trauma Hospital, leaving only 3 emergency rooms in service. The closure was due to the reconstruction of the central building and external facilities. The tender worth 655 million lekë was won by the company "Alba Konstruksion". The procurement has been flagged with a red flag by Open Data. The closure of 70% of the hospital for 4 months, without a specific deadline for when the rooms will be functional, has created an unprecedented situation leading to direct violations of human rights. "Hospital reconstructions, operating room reconstructions are certainly necessary, but this cannot be done without a contingency plan that guarantees the continuity of service, the sustainability of service, and ensures quality for patients, showing that this is a continuous service, not a seasonal one," said Dr. Ilir Alimehmeti. "The Ministry of Health, the hospital, and the hospital management should have taken measures to have alternative pathways. What could these alternative pathways be, such as renting rooms from businesses, opening new spaces, or utilizing public services to return them to patient care," said Dr. Eglantina Bardhi of Together for Life. We specifically asked the hospital to know how many rooms are currently closed, but the official response only refers to the Operating Block without specifying the number. Inside Story obtained an internal email from the ministry dated May 12, 2025, announcing the start of reconstruction and directing patients to regional hospitals. Exceptions are made for specialized heavy interventions. However, citizens have no public information, and coordination to date appears lacking. "In any case, to manage with the university orthopedics-traumatology service at SUT, interventions should be carried out near regional hospitals where orthopedics-traumatology services are available, circulating, if necessary, medical personnel and specific medical materials." "One element that suffers is the patient; the patient knows it's the Trauma Hospital, and if they suffer trauma, they go there. Many patients go directly to the Trauma Hospital; how would they know that this hospital is not operational, but another hospital is? Public notification is needed," said Dr. Ilir Alimehmeti. Experts consider this type of organization unfeasible, also referring to immediate past experiences that have failed. "For example, if we take an intervention that may last two hours and it's in Korçë, if we add the doctor's travel time, it means the whole day they perform only one intervention, whereas if they were in Tirana, they could have done 4, meaning 3 other patients who are now untreated would have been treated. So, it fails on many points," said Dr. Ilir Alimehmeti. We sent an information request to regional hospitals to understand if concrete measures were taken after the email sent by the Ministry of Health regarding the situation at Trauma. Of all the hospitals, only the Elbasan Hospital responded to our request. Elbasan: The hospital has 2 operating rooms and basic capacities for trauma treatment, including orthopedic and emergency surgical interventions, in accordance with existing equipment and infrastructure. Interventions are carried out depending on the complexity of the case and available technical capabilities. The service is covered by specialist doctors in the relevant fields. The hospital said it has taken measures and sent to Tirana only cases that could not be treated in Elbasan, but clarifies that such cases have been few. These are cases requiring higher expertise, as well as equipment available only at the Trauma Hospital. On the other hand, the team for a specific intervention is not just the doctor, but a group with well-defined tasks and functions. "Emergencies and planned operations have different levels of preparation because emergencies can be immediate, and you have to manage with the staff you have, but this does not justify the lack of sterilization or disinfection, because this must happen anyway, whether in the emergency room or in planned operating rooms; we even have a concession for this that was sold for success and is now under investigation," said Dr. Ilir Alimehmeti.