‘Why Should We Prove Our Contacts With Coronavirus Patients?’

The rebellious doctors in Babruisk feel determined.

Earlier this week, the republican media published information about the collective appeal of the staff of the Babruisk city ambulance station to Lukashenka: doctors are dissatisfied with the implementation of Decree #131, the document providing material bonuses for doctors working in the conditions associated with infections.

According to media reports, about 200 people signed the appeal. A few days later a commission visited the ambulance station. And today, a film crew of the republican television came to the Babruisk city ambulance station. See how the visit of the Minsk journalists changed the usual course of work of the Babruisk ambulance in the report of the Kommercheskiy Courier.

The clock shows 3 p.m. Three hours have passed since the arrival of the film crew, and about 40 employees in the yard of the ambulance station do not even think of going away. Only those sent on calls leave, but those who returned from another patient immediately replace them: the station is operating in a regular regime.

There have been rumours among the people that the TV would come again. Their first visit disappointed he healthcare workers:

“They shot a video report, but they didn’t hear everyone,” they said. “We are waiting for their arrival again, maybe now we’ll manage to tell what we want to.”

The people are sure: neither the visit from Minsk, nor the current spontaneous assembly would happen if it wasn’t for the decree #131. Or, rather, the way it is implemented in Babruisk.

- Why should we prove our contacts with the coronavirus patients? - asks the paramedic of the mobile brigade Maryna Krasnanosava. - After all, as our management said, extra charge is possible only if a patient has the documented COVID-19. Recently, two of our colleagues contacted a coronavirus patient. And they themselves became infected, the diagnosis is confirmed. All our cardiology team contacted them. It turns out that we are all first-level contacts. We were told that if we get sick from a patient, we are supposed to receive extra charge, if we get infected from our colleagues - this is household contact and the allowance in this case is not paid.

According to the meeting, these are not the first cases of infection among the station personnel. There have been infected doctors before.

- Have there been any serious cases?

- Our driver died at the end of April, - said Yury Bolbas. - I do not know the cause of death. We didn’t see the death certificate, he was buried in a closed coffin. He was 46 years old.

Yury demonstrates his payroll, he also works as a driver. The amount of the same allowance is a little more than 145 rubles. Moreover, according to the decree, as Yury Bolbas thought, he, as a “miscellaneous health worker,” was supposed to receive 1,000 rubles - the minimum amount prescribed in the document. Everyone with whom we spoke is dissatisfied with their payrolls as well.

According to the meeting, now the situation with protective equipment at the station is more or less normal. But at the start of the pandemic, there was a shortage of respirators.

The doctors feel determined.

- The worker who hands us the chemicals is currently in the hospital with toxic hepatitis,- continues Maryna Krasnanosava. - Didn't she put her health in danger?

Attendants joined the conversation.

- It’s the same money if I wash one vehicle per shift or twenty, - says attendant Ina Baravaya.

After talking with the staff, the journalists went to take a comment from Chief Physician at the ambulance station Siarhei Chudau.

“I am writing an explanatory note, no comment for now,” Siarhei Chudau answered.

Returning to the ambulance yard, we noticed: there have become even more people. Everyone with whom we talked today did not hesitate to speak openly about their problems. With masks on their faces, but revealing their surnames and posts.