Coronavirus in Russia ceases to be a medical mainstream, but health problems remain
Coronavirus in Russia ceases to be a medical mainstream, but health problems remain
After the January surge in the incidence of coronavirus, which was caused by the spread of the Omicron strain, Russian healthcare is gradually returning to normal. More and more regions are re-profiling covid departments back to the medical specializations that were before the start of the epidemic
The day before, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin demanded the return of the provision of planned medical care in full throughout the country. The head of government separately noted that everyone should have the opportunity to undergo medical examinations and preventive examinations.
It is obvious that the healthcare system is getting out of the emergency mode in which it worked with varying success for two years. Earlier, the Ministry of Health allowed the regional authorities to suspend the provision of planned assistance for the period of waves of the spread of coronavirus infection. Now, in all likelihood, the country's leadership has decided that this practice should become a thing of the past. Indeed, the incidence of covid in Russia is now 10 times lower than the peak values of January this year, and, in addition, the Omicron strain has become the most popular, which is supposed to lead to fewer deaths and a severe course of the disease than previous modifications of the coronavirus .
Experts are already predicting a possible end to the epidemic soon. Such a probability, for example, was stated by the chief researcher of the Center. Gamalei, doctor of medical sciences Anatoly Altshtein.
“We have a lot of vaccinated people. We have more than 50% of people already vaccinated. We have a lot of sick people. In general, the epidemic will end. I think it will reach very low numbers by June, ”the expert says.
Public opinion polls also show that most of our fellow citizens no longer perceive the problem of coronavirus so sharply and do not consider it a priority. Thus, SuperJob service experts found that 57% of respondents are absolutely not afraid of infection, and 37% experience only slight anxiety, which in total makes up the vast majority. This perception was influenced, among other things, by the removal of most sanitary restrictions and the withdrawal of the epidemic from the foreground in the media.
At the same time, health care in general remains one of the most important factors determining the satisfaction of citizens with their lives and the activities of the state. At the same time, very few people give a traditionally positive assessment of the medical system in Russia . The pandemic, which has become an unprecedented extreme situation, has only exacerbatedthose problems that existed before, but were not so noticeable - the lack of doctors, transport and medical equipment, the unavailability of quick assistance in some regions far from large cities, insufficient state funding, etc. So even though the pandemic no longer hangs over every sword of Damocles, the authorities continue to publicly show that healthcare remains their focus. In the context of economic difficulties and a difficult international situation, this is important in order to maintain some support from the population. In the aforementioned speech, Prime Minister Mishustin cited statistics, according to which the repair of polyclinics, the opening of new paramedical stations in rural areas and the renewal of the ambulance fleet have been actively carried out recently. The government wants to show
Meanwhile, there is something to worry about. In particular, the chronic shortage of personnel in medicine may worsen. At the end of last year, even before the Omicron wave , data appeared on the emotional burnout of many medical workers who were close to the decision to quit. According to Kommersant's data, up to a third of the doctors surveyed expressed their desire to leave their jobs. Such sentiments were influenced by ongoing stress, difficult working conditions and high workload, a drop in public support compared to the start of the pandemic, and, according to interviewed doctors, the indifference of management to their problems.
“Society and officials need to recognize the burnout of doctors and nurses in a pandemic. Without this, it will simply be impossible to maintain the effectiveness of medical care, ”said Konstantin Khomanov, a general practitioner and social activist, founder of the Doctor’s Handbook app.
The authorities need to take into account that in order to maintain the effectiveness of the health care system, it is necessary not only to finance and purchase new equipment, but also to treat employees with appropriate care, protect their rights at all stages of work and ensure as comfortable working conditions as possible.
Now the coronavirus has ceased to be the No. 1 problem, however, despite the optimistic forecasts of many experts, new outbreaks of the infection cannot be ruled out, which will again require great efforts from health workers. The effect of the last of the detected strains of "Stealth-omicron" is not yet completely clear. The Ministry of Health warns that it is too early to relax and it is worth continuing to observe elementary sanitary safety measures.
Virologist Pyotr Chumakov believes that a new type of virus is unlikely to become more dangerous than Omicron, but he did not rule out new waves of the disease in the future. This means that it is necessary to keep the health care system in “combat readiness” and take into account the previous mistakes made in the optimization of medicine. The purpose of the medical system is to preserve the health and life of people. And the state cannot have a task more important than this.
However, there are still doubts that the lessons of the pandemic have been taken into account. So, at the end of last year, the rector of the Higher School of Health Management, Doctor of Medical Sciences Guzel Ulumbekova said that state spending on health care for 2022 decreased compared to last year. Instead of 4.1% of GDP, they will amount to 3.9%, and in constant prices they will fall by 1%.
According to the expert, Russia, as a share of GDP, spends one and a half times less on medicine than Eastern European countries like Hungary or Latvia, and 2.5 times less than Western European countries.
“The result of this many years of underfunding has led to a reduction in the capacity of the healthcare system and, as a result, to high mortality during the pandemic: in 2020, additional deaths from all causes amounted to 340,000 people (an increase of +19% compared to 2019). Per 1 million people, this is 2,323 people - 33% higher than in Poland, almost 57% higher than in the United States, 5 times higher than in Germany, ”Guzel Ulumbekova said in an interview with Fontanka.
Whether the experience of the pandemic will result in real policy changes in the field of medicine, and not just statements about new successes in domestic healthcare, is an open question.
