Recently, many residents of the capital have heard only one important question - why hospitals in Moscow are being closed. Some believe that such plans can simply lead to catastrophic changes in the medical industry, but the state is confident that if you close half of the hospitals, you can give a second life to medical institutions that are in poor condition and cannot provide themselves at the proper level. The emphasis is on the fact that only those institutions are closed that are not in demand among the population, in which case it turns out that there is no sense in maintaining such hospitals. Therefore, they began to be combined into branches, and then they will be completely liquidated. Is this really so, consider in our article.
Reforms to be taken at the Ministry of Health
Most recently, a law was issued by the Department of Health, which popularly describes structural transformations that will soon be implemented in Moscow medical institutions. Many people compare this law with the schedule for closing Moscow hospitals. There are still sixty clinics, but according to the law, there will be only twenty eight of them.
Many analysts say that in the near future there will be almost no hospitals in Moscow, but this refers to medical facilities that can provide free services to citizens. Naturally, this will entail reductions in Moscow hospitals, and this will cause a high level of unemployment among highly qualified doctors in the city. But the authorities for some reason are quite sure that the work of the clinics will be effective, and the quality of the treatment itself will improve. In addition, they promise that the salaries of the doctors themselves will increase significantly, and those specialists who do not find work by profession will be able to retrain and get a job, but in a different field.
The Moscow Mayor proposes to distribute the load on different hospitals of the Moscow Department of Health, that is, now some clinics will deal with chronic diseases, while others will deal exclusively with serious diseases. The distribution of the load can contribute to the creation of centers that will carefully deal with only one direction. But the fact that not all patients will be able to get to such a center is not taken into account, since they will be mainly on the outskirts of the city, all the main medical institutions of the center will be closed.
It should be borne in mind that the authorities consider only the benefits from the financial side, and from the side of fulfilling the main task - healthcare - such reforms have a huge number of disadvantages. As a result, we can observe that hospitals are being liquidated, as a result of which patients do not receive sufficient treatment. Now the availability of honey. aid has decreased significantly, vulnerable groups of the population cannot afford treatment in an expensive center, which many polyclinics of the city have already turned into.
Reasons why such reforms need to be implemented
The main reason for this reform is savings. There is not enough money in the budget now to keep health care at the same level. Too much waste this year fell to the lot of Russia, so in order to survive, it is necessary to take such extreme measures. The fact that hospitals in prestigious urban areas will be closed can only indicate that the district will now have only a couple of medical institutions.
But this is not the only reason why the state decided on such drastic measures. Along with the closure of state medical institutions, private clinics will develop, and this is additional money to the treasury. Also, the main reasons include the fact that keeping hospitals that plan to close is not only not profitable, but also in some cases pointless.
According to officials, such measures are simply necessary, otherwise public health in Moscow will soon be at a very low level, and with such reforms it is expected to improve the quality of treatment, increase doctors' salaries and install the latest equipment that can identify diseases in the initial stages. It’s much easier to supply twenty-eight hospitals than sixty. The state refers to the fact that in this way it takes care of its citizens and everything is done only for the good of their health.
Which clinics plan to close
The first clinic was 63 city clinical hospital. It was closed not so long ago and by competition, which is an important argument. It was located on Prospekt Mira. The closure was gradual, to begin with, the polyclinics were combined into one, and then all the branches that belonged to it were closed, so, over time, they reached the main hospital. It is worth noting that before the clinic was owned by the European Medical Center.
Reform reached its peak precisely in the spring of 2015. Both children's hospitals in Moscow and large polyclinics are closing, so far, however, only at the level of department cuts. Thus, branches that are least in demand are closed.
72 hospitals were also closed, and the 59th and 71st clinics were closed. Hospitals in Moscow are closing down en masse, after the spring of 2015, most likely, only twenty-three percent of all medical facilities will remain. Many say that doctors will raise salaries, but the price of such salaries is the deprivation of the jobs of other specialists. Many posts will simply become unclaimed.
Those doctors who really have nowhere to go will have to acquire a new profession. It is worth noting that the transformation and implementation of reforms is slow and not very noticeable so that citizens can get used to such changes. Immediately, at the same time, do not close a large number of hospitals. So, for example, by order of the President, the peak of closure of medical facilities will be in May 2015, which means that there will be reductions in Moscow hospitals. Closing clinics began in October 2012.
List of clinics that will be closed first
The list of Moscow hospitals to be closed is constantly growing. These are twenty-eight medical institutions that are located not only in Moscow, but throughout the Moscow region. This will include maternity hospitals, as well as children's hospitals in Moscow. In the list you can find medical institutions No. 6, No. 61, No. 59, No. 53, No. 19, No. 56, No. 54, No. 68, No. 72 and No. 11. But it is worth noting that so far not all hospitals from the list have closed, therefore it’s very early to draw any conclusions. The question of which hospitals will be closed in Moscow remains open.
For example, since July, Polyclinic No. 60 has ceased to function, it was veteran, in addition, it was famous for the specialists who worked in it, the hospital even had a hematology department. As a result, the hospital was sold to a private gastroenterological clinic.
Hospital No. 45, which was involved in the treatment of bronchopulmonary diseases, was later closed, and even later, clinic No. 47, where urological diseases were cured, suffered the same fate. Instead of closed medical institutions, they plan to make a neurological center and a rehabilitation clinic for athletes. Naturally, treatment there will take place on a paid basis.
I would also like to dwell on the fact that former children's hospitals with a capacity of up to seventy beds are now centers of nursing care for the elderly, maternity hospitals are turning into paid perinatal centers. For example, in clinic number 12, which used to be considered one of the best hospitals for treating childhood infections, they plan to open a hotel.
Now it becomes more clear why hospitals in Moscow are being closed. Naturally, the organization of paid centers is nothing more than a violation of constitutional rights, since now the majority of the population who really need it will not be able to receive free qualified assistance.
How will medical facilities be closed
For many, the closure of medical facilities was a shock, since in 2013 they only talked about uniting hospitals and creating branches. Thus, they tried to save government spending, but, unfortunately, this method was not at all effective. Therefore, it was decided to liquidate about seventy-seven percent of clinics.
But even here the state found a way: instead of liquidated institutions, paid hospitals in Moscow will appear, which will become large medical multi-disciplinary hospitals. If you want to be treated, pay money.
The Department of Health explains its actions by saying that the medical facilities that were on the list for closure do not meet the stated requirements. For example, in a city like Moscow, hospital 68 is one of the clinics where doctors receive the lowest salaries.
Many say that such reforms are unlikely to bring big money to the state treasury, but the load on other clinics will increase very much. Most likely, there will simply not be enough places in the wards of hospitals that will remain working, that is, the state will not be able to take care of its citizens at the proper level. Because of this, paid chambers are created in which people who can afford it can be, and all other segments of the population that are considered unprotected can be in the care of the state. Officials believe that a bed for these people is quite enough.
What to fear: expert opinion
If you carefully study the budget, then all the same there are reasons for concern. All health care costs will drop to twenty-three percent. They also say that the list of institutions is not yet complete, most likely, closed psychiatric hospitals will appear in it very soon. But it is worth noting that it is unlikely that hospitals will be liquidated in a timely manner, everything will be done as slowly and calmly as possible so as not to make too much noise.
Some doctors are confused because they do not understand why they are closing hospitals in Moscow. They are in a panic. The state should have carried out enlightening work that would enable qualified specialists to find their place in another medical institution. Only one question remains open - how many hospitals are closed and how many still plan to be liquidated.
Before implementing such reforms and redirecting specialists, initiators should carefully study their qualifications, as recently there has been a mismatch between the new position of the physician and his abilities. This could be another shortcoming in medical reform, which could lead to serious consequences.
Closing of hospital No. 68 in Moscow
This hospital provided a full range of trauma, urological and therapeutic care services. In addition, among the patients there were a lot of those who suffer from diabetes, are involved in weight correction, and have problems in the field of gynecology. The hospital also offered emergency neurosurgical care; brain operations were performed within its walls. The clinic was a multi-state, located in the center of Moscow.
As it turned out, such a large city as Moscow (hospital 68, we note, was under the care of the state) cannot contain such a clinic, so it also appeared on the list of liquidations. But instead of it, a specialized medical center will be opened, of course, the services of doctors in it will be paid.
Hospital closure schemes
Some hospitals are on the black list, but will only close in October. So, a medical institution may no longer function, but finally be liquidated much later. Some hospitals are transferred to the care of the European Medical Center, in which case it may remain state, but a special, paid medical center will be created on its territory.
The bets are placed on clinics that before the closure had a large influx of people, for example, in hospital 63 there were always a lot of patients (statistics show that about twenty thousand people were examined here annually), about ten departments worked, there were even university departments. Separately, one can note the staff of five hundred people. At the moment, it cannot be said that the hospital is completely closed, it is functioning, but not at full capacity. And over time, everything will change, it will turn into a rehabilitation center.
Who is the victim of such reforms
Naturally, such reforms will not go unnoticed by citizens. First of all, the following sections of the population will remain unprotected:
- retirees, because not everyone can afford to undergo treatment at a rehabilitation center;
- people who are considered to be poor because they cannot be treated in expensive clinics, and there will be very few state hospitals, and they will not be located in the city center, but on its outskirts;
- specialists who after such reforms lose their jobs, as their profession becomes unclaimed, they will have to look for options for acquiring new professions.
The good news is that the state still does not refuse some budget hospitals. Institutions such as tuberculosis, narcological and venereological clinics will continue to function and will not be touched at all.
In order to at least somehow reassure people, an order was issued in which it was about creating so-called social beds, which pensioners and low-income families can take advantage of.
Many Moscow doctors cannot figure out the reform, but are ready to switch to a new system. Some are very worried about which hospitals will be closed in Moscow, because for the most part the reforms affect those clinics that have a very narrow specialization, for example, the only center in Moscow that was involved in the study and treatment of multiple sclerosis has recently been closed. Thanks to this reform, about seven thousand doctors will be left without work.
What could save Moscow from such reforms?
The only way that could be considered salvation is to invest. But there are few investors who agree to work on the terms that the city puts. Such state clinics, sponsored by investors, could be considered as budgetary medical posts at least for certain segments of the population, but, unfortunately, not everyone decides on investments in government agencies. The fact is that most investors opt for paid medicine in order to make a profit from this.
Another option would be to review the laws, amend them accordingly, because this is the only way to avoid corruption in this area.
Now it becomes more clear why hospitals in Moscow are being closed. In fact, the state expects such reforms to improve the situation in the medical sector, while servicing citizens-patients will be able to bring very good profits and replenish the treasury. The same money is planned to be spent on the purchase of the latest equipment, which will contribute to a qualitative examination and treatment.
Officials prefer to use the word "reorganization", but in fact it should be understood as liquidation. If you calculate the costs, they are really colossal, but officials believe that selling the property to individuals is the best way to save the budget. In their opinion, this will help optimize costs at the expense of ordinary citizens, who will pay for more expensive medical personnel. Naturally, no one will stop getting sick after such reforms, which means that now one will have to pay for health.