MP: People should pay for visiting polyclinic

The authorities prepare people for the fact they will have to pay for a doctor's visit.

Member of parliament Dzmitry Shautsou insists on introducing a “symbolical” payment for visiting a polyclinic.

The member of the standing commission on healthcare, physical culture, family and youth policy and the chair of the Belarusian Association of Doctors told it in an interview with ONT TV channel.

The former chief physician of a Minsk polyclinic said salaries should be raised for doctors, BelaPAN news agency reports. According to him, the main problem is high workload. “Of course, it [the workload] should be normalised. It will partially solve the problem,” the MP thinks.

The fact that Minsk authorities found funds to raise salaries for ambulance crews is the example for other regions, Shautsou says. “The Minsk city executive committee has been paying additional money to physicians of different categories. The benefits have been increased recently. This is the example for other regions,” he noted.

Speaking about deputy PM Anatoly Tozik's remark that citizens should partially pay for medical aid, Shautsou noted: “We interpret the term 'free healthcare' in a wrong way. It cannot be free. It is free for you and me, but it costs huge money for the state. Sometimes we don't care about our health, we treat healthcare like consumers. It's unacceptable. One shouldn't neglect his health to a level when he has to live in a polyclinic.”

Every polyclinic has many patients how visit it more than 100 times a year, according to Shautsou. “They just want it. They want to go and have their blood pressure measured by a physician instead of buying a blood pressure meter. They want to ask, read, speak about test results, asks again what a physician has said during the previous visit. It results in high workload on physicians. What do we see in a doctor's office? There are a physician, a nurse, a patient and two people who 'only want to ask'. It shouldn't be like that. It annoys both a patient and a physician. It causes high workload. A doctor cannot focus on the problem and give an accurate diagnosis. It shows the lack of culture and respect for a doctor,” the specialist says.

A patient should be interested in his or her health, Shauthous thinks. “He neglects his health if he receives free medical aid. If a patient will pay symbolically, he will become a partner interested in preserving his health,” the MP said.

Members of parliament are ready to amend the legislation if needed, according to him.