"It Was Horrifying To See It": Belarusians Report About How Appointments In Hospitals Look Like Now

The shortage of doctors is becoming more and more evident in Belarus.

Only in Minsk, employers are now looking for more than 1,000 nurses and 860 medical specialists. It takes people several hours to get to an appointment in many cities and towns, reports Belsat.

Health Minister Dzmitry Pinevich has previously stated that the lack of doctors is not an emergency situation, and denied the existence of mass layoffs of medical staff for political reasons. There is no separate section on the website of the Ministry, dedicated to the employment of doctors, but only a link to the doctorjob.by resource. But this site has only a few vacancies. However, medical institutions of the country post quite a lot of vacancies on their pages and look for nurses as well as doctors. The exception is the hospitals in Mahiliou. There is no vacancies section on the web-sites of medical institutions of this regional centre.

Meanwhile, the republican bank of vacancies for medical specialists has as many as 3,196 vacancies, in addition, there are 1,063 vacancies for paramedics and 3,047 vacancies for nurses. In total there is a shortage of more than 7 thousand healthcare professionals on the market.

It has become a big problem in some regions. For instance, in Zhodzina, as the locals say, there is a catastrophic shortage of therapists, assistants. In order to prescribe medication to a pensioner, they need to make an appointment a week in advance.

"Last year I was sick with COVID. I had to go to hospital, I was in the red zone. It was terrifying to see that. People were queuing in the corridor, waiting for an appointment. And the red zone was on the 4th floor, some people didn't even make it to that floor because it was hard for them to breathe. I was released from my appointment at 10:30 pm. The doctors worked until the last visitor, even though their working day ends at 20:00. I do not know what the situation looks like this year, but in 2021 it was just terrible," a resident of Zhodzina told Belsat.

There is also a very acute problem with children's doctors. Belsat readers report that there is no pediatric ENT specialist, neurologist in the town with over 65 thousand inhabitants.

"Three times a week for three hours a day an adult ENT doctor comes to the children's department. Therefore, it is necessary to get permission from the paediatrician to see the doctor. But one has to make an appointment with the paediatrician a week in advance. Among narrow specialists, there is only a surgeon, an ophthalmologist and an endocrinologist, who combines his work with that of a general practitioner. In 13 years, six pediatricians have been changed. Young specialists arrive, but as soon as they work out, they immediately disappear. And until a new doctor arrives, the district covered by the therapist is attached to another one. As a result, we had to either treat ourselves or go to the nearest medical centre with pediatricians, which is in Barysau. There are medical centres in Zhodzina, but for some reason they don't take children's tests, they only take the adults' ones", says the Zhodzina resident.

The woman says that she has visited the polyclinic this week and failed to make an appointment with a pediatrician. The receptionist told her that all the doctors work in the red zone.

Now there are six pediatricians working in the pediatric department of Zhodzina. Even the head of the department receives children. Such a number of specialists is not enough. Residents of the town say that it takes almost two hours to get through and make an appointment at the children's polyclinic.

Last December the local authorities promised to open a new children's polyclinic in Zhodzina. But the opening was postponed to a later date. The glass 4-story building of the children's polyclinic, which looks quite modern, is not functioning yet. The authorities are now looking for an opportunity to buy medical equipment. They are collecting money from the companies. But the residents say that if there is no one to work in the existing polyclinic, is it possible for anything to change with the commissioning of the new one?

And now, the children's polyclinic is located in the building of the municipal polyclinic and occupies half of the floor. Authorities promise that the situation will change soon, with the new polyclinic starting to receive children as early as the end of this year.

"When they tell me about free medicine, I am surprised, because, snots, if you don't mind me saying, I have learned to treat myself, but other and more serious things - only for money in medical centres. Not a single free ultrasound scan was offered to children. Four years ago, to make a heart ultrasound examination, I had to wait six months. That's how we live," says the Zhodzina resident.