MINSK, 8 November (BelTA) – Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko demanded efficient spending and smart resource management from healthcare facilities as he visited Orsha City Hospital No. 1 named after Semashko on 6 November, BelTA has learned.
Aleksandr Lukashenko asked in detail about health care delivery in local healthcare institutions, including the operation of admission departments, the number of operating rooms and their efficiency, as well as the treatment of patients in Orsha District as a whole.
The president noted that local residents should have access to the entire spectrum of medical services, and the health care delivery should be well managed. “Everything should be optimal. This involves a lot of money,” he said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko underlined that hospitals should not be turned into sanatoriums and spas, and patients should stay in hospitals just as much as they need.
“We should spend money on doctors' salaries, their professional growth and equipment. Operating rooms should be perfect,” the Belarusian leader said.
He noted that a great number of modern healthcare facilities have already been built in the country: “There is no need to build palaces. We have already built them. Therefore, resources should be used in such a way to achieve maximum output with minimum input. Money should be spent wisely, including in health care.”
“COVID is quite an experience for us. It put us to the test, exposed our weaknesses and immoderacies. It was important for us. This optimization is important for me. We need to channel money into helping doctors,” the president said.
Chief Physician of Orsha Central Polyclinic Sergei Karaka told the president about the structure of healthcare facilities in the region, the outcomes of work of Orsha City Hospital No.1 and provision of routine and emergency medical care, including for COVID-19 patients.
When in the hospital, Aleksandr Lukashenko visited the departments of intensive care and anesthesiology, trauma surgery and angiography. The president was told about the treatment of patients, purchase of modern medical equipment. The head of state also studied the treatment of COVID-19 patients. He visited the “red zone' of the intensive care and pulmonology department.
Sergei Karaka told the head of state about the epidemiological situation and the progress with vaccination. According to him, the region has recently seen a decline in COVID-19 cases, the number of discharged patients is growing, and the number of hospitalizations is lower than the number of discharged patients. The doctor assured that vaccination obviously has an important role in creating herd immunity. It is possible for a fully vaccinated person to contract COVID-19, but it does not appear to be a significant risk. “We discharged 72 people yesterday, 26 were admitted,” he said.
Orsha Central Polyclinic includes outpatient clinics (four outpatient clinics for adults and two for children, two tertiary care centers, 13 outpatient clinics of a general practitioner (of which four are part of local hospitals), 23 rural health posts, 7 hospital organizations: Orsha City Hospital №1, Orsha City Hospital №3, Orsha City Maternity Hospital and four rural district hospitals.
