Wheezing for help

Why doctors are sick and die in a “clean” hospital near Moscow

- Can I hear Sergey Rubenovich?

- He's on sick leave!

- And Ekaterina Valerievna?

- She's on sick leave!

It was possible to get through to one of the doctors in the Podolsk city clinical hospital only on the third attempt. The doctor at the other end of the wire said that there are not enough employees, that doctors work in 36/12 mode - one and a half days with a break of 12 hours, and that three doctors have already died from coronavirus. Information “from places” was strikingly different from the data sent by the Ministry of Health of the Moscow Region.

The “Podolsk” story began shortly after the launch of the Syndicate-100 project “ambulance journalistic assistance”, designed to monitor the provision of doctors with personal protective equipment and help with their receipt through journalistic requests to various instances.

On Tuesday, May 6, a signal from the anonymous employee of the Podolsk State Committee for Economics was received: as if the medical institution administration hides the fact of infection of employees with a coronaviral infection, and those patients continue to work. The coordinator of the emergency journalistic aid project, Alexander Gatilin, contacted the left phone with the doctor.

The more details we learned, the more implausible the situation in this multidisciplinary hospital, the largest in the Moscow region. Almost a thousand beds, 18 departments, 1300 employees. The Podolskaya GKB is considered “pure”, patients with coronavirus are not accepted in it, they are hospitalized in an infectious center in the village of Borodino: it is located seven kilometers, although it is part of the GCB.

Perhaps only one thing was alarming: in April, a traumatologist-45-year-old Sergey Skitev (he is on the memory list) died in this clean hospital from Covid.

What did the doctor say

In communication with us, the anonymous doctor introduced himself as his real name, he confirmed it, showing a passport on the video chat Google Duo. He also sent a photocopy of certificates from the place of work confirming his position, specialization and the department where he works. On the form of the medical institution and with the seal (is available to the editorial office). The doctor asked for anonymity from fear that he could be fired. Therefore, we will call him Mikhail Yuryevich. He said that he pushed him to write in the media:

“At the beginning of the epidemic, the hospital employees did not have any protection at all. Only disposable masks are bluish. Personal protective equipment began to be arrived in the 20s of April. True, there were no glasses, but the anti -chom costumes, respirators were sent. They were given to several departments, all were not enough.

These measures were belated: many employees had already become ill by that time. The doctor died - our traumatologist Skithyv. "

However, most of all, Mikhail Yuryevich was bothered by the fact that many health workers, sick, did not go to sick leave, but continued to work along with healthy colleagues.

“I learned about this by chance. Once I went into the cabinet of computed tomography behind the picture of his patient, and there was no place for an employee. While waiting, I saw a picture of someone’s lungs on the monitor screen-100 % viral pneumonia, of those that can be seen per kilometer. Near the image was the name of our doctor. “Yes, he has viral pneumonia,” I heard the conclusion of a specialist.

The sensitivity of computed tomography is approximately 95 %, while testing shows an average of 75 %. On CT, the radiologist will see changes in the lungs, even if the disease is asymptomatic, and testing shows a negative result, the doctor explains.

“According to an employee of the CT cabinet, many doctors and nurses are now coming to be examined, and almost every second reveals changes in the lungs characteristic of viral pneumonia. From my colleague I learned about ten surnames. ”

What was the surprise of Mikhail Yuryevich when, having replaced the next time, he met that doctor with a 100 percent Covid-19, whose picture saw on CT.

“As if nothing had happened, he worked in his department! Other patients continued to work. One of them told me in a conversation that he had informed the head of his department about the results of the study, but he, according to him, did not let him go to sick leave, saying that such changes in the lungs have no serious importance.

Later I asked an employee of the CT office about this. The answer surprised me even more

It turns out that some colleagues after the discovery of their hearth in the lungs asked to remove the results of the study from the database, which was denied.

I did not know whether I was addressed with such a request to other employees of the X -ray department. ”

Why a health worker with a hearth in the lungs is not sent to sick leave, Mikhail Yuryevich does not know for sure.

“I can only assume that after detecting changes to the CT, a person for some reason does not go to take a smear. There is no test - there is no official diagnosis of “coronavirus”, and hence the sick leave. Although some colleagues still receive sick leave. Apparently, those who feel very bad. "

Mikhail Yuryevich admits that one of the medical workers of the Podolsk city hospital is tested for Koronavirus, but, apparently, not everyone, since he personally does not know such.

What does the Ministry of Health say

The situation looked alarming, so we prepared requests on the editorial form and with the seal and on May 7 sent them to two addresses: the chief doctor of the Podolsk GKB Vardana Gevorkyan and the Minister of Health of the Moscow Region Svetlana Strigunkova. In the requests, we asked to confirm or refute the situation with the incidence of medical staff in the Podolsk city hospital, as well as to tell why people are not tested on Covid and not enough SIZ.

As expected, after three days the answer came-from the press service of the regional Ministry of Health "with a comment from the Podolsk city clinical hospital." From whom he exactly came - it was not clear, there was no signature under the comment.

It followed:

1. Of the almost 1.3 thousand hospital employees on the sick leave with Covid-19, there are currently 31 specialists, of which less than 10 are in stationary treatment;

2. The deceased traumatologist did not provide medical assistance to patients with suspicion of coronavirus infection. (That is, he could hypothetically become infected in another place, for example, in a pharmacy or from a sick colleague - T. Yu.);

3. All experts of the Podolsk State Committee for Supervision of Crime Coronavirus infection or mercenarile pneumonia, patients with suspicion of coronavirus, once a week undergo a compulsory study for coronavirus infection;

4. Employees of the Podolsk GKB are provided with SIZ in sufficient quantities. In April, the hospital received 46 thousand masks, 3.5 thousand disposable protective costumes, and after the holidays, May 12, another 5 thousand costumes will arrive, protective glasses - 500 pcs., Protective screens - 1000 pcs, masks with replaceable filters - 2000 pcs.

The answer dotted all points over I. It turned out that only employees of the infectious center in the village of Borodino are tested, since only they are engaged in patients with COVID-19. From which it can be assumed that health workers from the general professional hospital are not examined, and if they are examined, then at best only the CT cabinet employees, which is by definition, is a “red zone”.

As for the security of PPE, the numbers could impress if it were not for the number of hospital staff.

In fact, these April thousand masks were enough for doctors only for a week with a tail, given that they need to be changed every two hours. Costumes - only to wear three times to everyone.

Nevertheless, the promise to send to the hospital the additional volumes of PPE could only be welcomed.

What they say "on earth"

However, all this faded into the background when on Monday, May 11, Mikhail Yuryevich sent another message.

- We already have three dead doctors!

That morning it became known about the death of the resuscitator Vasily Travinichev, two days before him, the urologist Andrei Travkin died.

- And all this happens as if in a “clean” hospital! - Mikhail Yuryevich perplexed.

On Tuesday, May 12, we called the hospital in the hope that there was some ridiculous mistake. Unfortunately, the information was confirmed. Covid, left one by May 9 and 11, both fifty with a small one.

- Our mortality is large, there is no one to work, says the doctor whom we got through after the owners of our phones were on the sick leave.

- At least you have “protection” now? - We recall the promise of the Ministry of Health.

- Protection? - the doctor asks, as if not understanding what is being discussed.

- We work without means of protection, we only have masks. Previously, some kind of sizes were given .... what a siza, we have no antispasmodics in our department, one “ketorol” remained ... There is nothing even to anesthetize in the reception department.

Unfortunately, the story of the Podolsk city hospital did not help us understand what the reason is that the doctors are still not sufficiently provided with protective equipment. Why, despite the entire chatter about the full and unconditional security of PPE, the needs of people who selflessly work on Earth do not reach the floors of power. Why do not test all doctors, referring to them, apparently, as a consumable.

One thing is obvious: feedback does not work. The usual bureaucratically information about the state of affairs in the Podolsk city hospital does not reach the higher instance. I ask you to consider this material an appeal to the Ministry of Health of Russia - apparently, without the intervention of the federal authorities, it is simply impossible to restore order in the Podolsk city hospital.

Ambulance journalistic help
Denying the need for PPE, some medical institution managers refuse the help of charitable foundations that are ready to help. At the same time, a tough struggle is being carried out with those health workers who seek to achieve justice and openly talk about existing problems.

We, the journalists of the Syndicate-100 associations are convinced that the health of health workers is incomparably more expensive than the concern of individual officials and medical facilities with the safety of the posts and official positions they occupy.

We understand the fear of doctors to be dismissed or to be persecuted for publishing objective information, which contradicts the reports of the authorities. We do not need publications for the sake of publications, we do not chase sensations and scandals.

Our task is to help health workers get the necessary PPEs. We propose to take part in our project, thanks to which, we hope, you will receive everything you need to protect life and health.

Filling a form by reference and talking about a problem situation, you remain anonymous. We will not disseminate information about the doctors who appealed to us without additional written consent (we expect that in most cases this is not required).