The one-billionth injection of health into the Urals

21.11.2013 — Analysis

And a new quality of life.

The government of the Sverdlovsk region has approved the state program "Developing Health Care in the Sverdlovsk Region Until 2020," and 305,643,900,000 rubles will be spent on its implementation. In the next year alone, 43,975,400,000 rubles will go toward securing the health of the residents of Sverdlovsk and on industry upgrades. The major part of the funds (91%) will be allocated from the regional budget.

Arkady Belyavsky, the minister of health for the Sverdlovsk region, told RusBusinessNews that the state program consists of 12 subprograms that reflect the priorities for developing the industry. The focus will be on disease prevention, establishing healthy lifestyles, and introducing innovative methods of diagnosis, treatment, and recuperation. There are also provisions for improving emergency medical care, developing the system for safeguarding the health of mothers and children, resolving human-resources issues, and equipping clinics and hospitals with modern medical equipment. "The primary reason for setting up this state program is to create the health-care environment that is needed in order to safeguard the public's health and improve the demographics of the Sverdlovsk region," noted the minister.

Some key statistics will be used to evaluate the results: a reduction in the mortality rates (from all causes) and an increase in the average life expectancy, which should reach 75 by the year 2020. Currently it stands at 69.5, which is one year lower than the Russian average. However, average life expectancy in our country is still not high - it is 12.5 years lower than in the "older" EU countries. This is greatly affected by the high mortality rates of Russians still in their working years, primarily men. The mortality of this age group in Russia is more twice that of other economically developed countries.

It is hoped that early diagnosis and effective, modern treatment can help raise the average life expectancy in Sverdlovsk to 75, but this will require improvements in primary medical care. The Ministry of Health in the Sverdlovsk region told RusBusinssNews that emphasis will be placed on developing health care in rural areas, because patients who live in small towns have far less access to medical assistance, compared to residents of urban areas. A single, three-tiered system of primary medical care has already been created in the region: the first level focuses on clinics and outpatient centers, the second - on inter-municipal centers, and the third - on regional centers for consultation and diagnosis. But this is not enough. In the future, mobile paramedic/midwifery centers will be created in the region's sparsely populated areas, and stations to administer initial first aid and emergency care will be opened.

Effective treatment requires high-tech medical care, which was received by more than 25,000 residents of the region in 2012, but more is needed. The services in highest demand are for organ transplants and endovascular surgery on the heart and blood vessels. This state program will offer a comprehensive solution to many problems, by reducing the wait for high-tech medical care, increasing life expectancies, and reducing the number of those who are considered to be disabled.

There are currently six hospitals operating in the Sverdlovsk region that offer rehabilitation treatment. There are plans to develop and install effective rehabilitation equipment by the year 2020. Modular rehabilitation units will be opened at inter-municipal medical centers.

The state program will also include a focus on safeguarding the health of mothers and children. Emphasis will placed on improving the efficiency of the network of perinatal centers and pediatric institutions in the Sverdlovsk region. Experts acknowledge that it is very important to be able to diagnose pathologies in children at an early age, including during the prenatal period. And the most effective tool to protect children from congenital and hereditary diseases is a comprehensive prenatal diagnosis based on a new algorithm that includes ultrasound and biochemical screenings.

Money is not a serious obstacle to the implementation of these plans. It can always come out of some government cache. The question is - to whom should it be paid? In 2012 in the Central Urals there was a shortage of 2,889 doctors needed for outpatient care, and another 2,882 were lacking in in-patient facilities. The greatest demand is for pediatricians, general practitioners, cardiologists, neurologists, surgeons, otolaryngologists, and ophthalmologists.

And students at the Urals State Medical Academy are first and foremost receiving targeted post-graduate training in these very specializations. Physicians under the age of 35 who are sent to work in rural hospitals are now paid a one-time compensation of one million rubles. And beginning in 2014, graduates of medical schools who begin working with the region's out-patients will also receive one million rubles. The wages of health professionals will also increase significantly over the next four years. By 2018, doctors in Sverdlovsk will be paid an average of 95,000 rubles a month, and mid-level and junior medical staff will receive an average of about 48,000 rubles.

According to forecasts from the Russian Ministry of Health, a national average of over 33 trillion rubles will be spent by 2020 on measures to implement these government programs. This promises to dramatically improve the health of all Russians, and a healthy nation is an unmistakable sign of a strong government.

Anna Khorkova