Optimization does not add optimism

The virus of healthcare reorganization is spreading across the country. Under the pretext of optimizing costs and staffing, rural hospitals and outpatient clinics are being closed. Residents of small villages risk finding themselves without medical care at all.

A rural hospital in Itoml (Tver region) is under threat of “optimization.” If it is closed, dozens of patients, most of them elderly, will be left virtually abandoned without hope of timely help - the nearest hospital is in Rzhev, 50 km off-road.

In the Kostroma region, where rural outpatient clinics also underwent “reorganization,” the authorities proudly reported on the opening of the so-called. social hotels , where residents of remote villages will come for examination. While writing victorious reports, officials forgot about one thing: how long it will take residents to get to the regional center, and what difficulties this will entail. Many people will put off visiting the doctor until the “victory”, due to the long journey and the need to leave home for several days, which means the number of “neglected” cases will increase.

What the thoughtless reduction of supposedly unprofitable beds in rural areas leads to is shown by a case that occurred in the Jewish Autonomous Region . The inability to provide assistance on site and the long transportation to the regional hospital may have served as aggravating factors contributing to the child’s death.

Often, reforms result in infringement of the rights of not only patients, but also doctors. Thus, in the Vologda region, a rural hospital was “optimized”, with one stroke of the pen transferring it to the category of urban ones. Employees overnight lost the benefits and allowances that they were entitled to for working in the countryside.

But a complete optimist happened in Lipetsk . In the regional center, emergency hospital surgical beds are being closed. Closing a department providing emergency care is no longer optimization; in those days it would have been called sabotage with the corresponding conclusions. The words of the head of Lipetsk healthcare are indicative: “We will first see (what this reduction will result in - author’s note), and then we will make a decision.” An amazing management decision, isn't it? Destroy and then try to put it back together.

According to Lipetsk doctors familiar with the situation from the inside, closing beds is not so simple. From comments on the Medportal : “Two years ago in Lipetsk, beds were reduced to the required minimum. Immediately after this, renovations were started with a huge injection of funds in two hospitals at once - Emergency Hospital (still in progress) and Trestovskaya. And now the moment of truth has come - both renovated hospitals, with new operating rooms, dressing rooms, efficient staff, are completely closed!!! The article forgot to mention that a large new hospital was built in the city a year ago, the latest equipment was purchased for it... and immediately closed (for a reason). lack of personnel) !!! Can any of the wisest explain to me, when two years ago they started building a new hospital and renovating two more, no one knew that local medicine was not yet fully optimized?!

So, when traveling outside the Moscow Ring Road, be careful. It’s impossible to get into an accident somewhere far from the capitals - even if an optimized local ambulance has time to get to you, it’s far from a fact that it will have enough time to take you to the nearest optimized hospital. Take care of yourselves, gentlemen!