Low wages are forcing doctors to go to Karelia

And we are attracting foreign doctors with benefits so that they would come to work in Belarus.

“We lack staff everywhere. People are leaving for Minsk and regional centres. They work for two years and... leave. We need a lot of specialists now: surgeons, anaesthetists, an endocrinologist and a cardiologist.", - says in Zhytkavichy District Hospital.

The hospital is proud because a young neurologist makes about... 4 million roubles there. District doctors are paid less... Zhytkavichy isn't in! Young doctors run away even from the capital. Minsk polyclinic #16 is offering over a dozen vacancies on its website.

No wonder. According to online ads, doctors are offered from 2 to 3.5 million roubles depending on their specialization. The Ministry of Health is trying to solve the problem in its own way: by attracting... foreign doctors with the help of benefits.

"The necessity to get the Belarusian citizenship and a stay permit has been abolished for medics", - informs quoting deputy head of the staff policy department of the Ministry of Health Syarhei Sychak.

Indeed, employees of polyclinic #16 have recalled an Iranian urologist who used to work there long ago. There are no urologists in the polyclinic now. No foreigners work in the other four hospitals and five polyclinics has contacted either. Dentist Katsyaryna has stayed in a Minsk state stomatological polyclinic after her assignment. She is a doctor of the 2nd category and makes... 1.4 million roubles a month.

“I accept 36 patients a day. I was paid 1.4 millions last month. That sum included my bonus - 300 thousands", - says Katsyaryna.

Euroradio has found a Belarusian dentist working in... Karelia. Now Anton lives in the Russian town of Sortavala and works in a private dental polyclinic.

“The difference in salaries is huge. I am making much more here. I decided to leave because I wanted to live instead of trying to survive", says Anton.

He cannot say how much he is paid because it is not allowed at work. The company provided Anton with accommodation is Sortavala. He has recalled that several other his ex-groupmates have also left for Russia.