Working trip to Orsha, Vitebsk Oblast

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko made a working trip to Orsha, Vitebsk Oblast, on 6 November. He visited Orsha City Hospital No. 1 named after Semashko and Orsha Meat Canning Plant.

Aleksandr Lukashenko asked in detail about health care delivery in local healthcare institutions, including the operation of admission departments, the number of operating rooms and their efficiency, as well as the treatment of patients in Orsha District as a whole.

The President noted that local residents should have access to the entire spectrum of medical services, and the health care delivery should be well managed. “Everything should be optimal. This involves a lot of money,” he said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko underlined that hospitals should not be turned into sanatoriums and spas, and patients should stay in hospitals just as much as they need.

“We should spend money on doctors’ salaries, their professional growth and equipment. Operating rooms should be perfect,” the Belarusian leader said.

He noted that a great number of modern healthcare facilities have already been built in the country: “There is no need to build palaces. We have already built them. Therefore, resources should be used in such a way to achieve maximum output with minimum input. Money should be spent wisely, including in health care.”

“COVID is quite an experience for us. It put us to the test, exposed our weaknesses and immoderacies. It was important for us. This optimization is important for me. We need to channel money into helping doctors,” the President said.

The head of state noted that salaries of medical personnel rose on the back of COVID-19 bonuses. According to him, this same level of payment should be retained after the pandemic is over.

“Br2,000 [the average salary in healthcare] and not less. This level of salaries for doctors must be maintained. Doctors’ salaries will be a benchmark for other public sector employees. Teachers will be next. There can be no country without doctors and teachers. This is our real intelligentsia,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

During his visit to the hospital, Aleksandr Lukashenko recalled the events of last year. He noted that there can always be people among the medical personnel who have a different point of view, of course. This is natural, the head of state emphasized. “However, you should be the face of the nation and behave decently. The only problem is that some violated the law,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

The President noted that during meetings or discussions he wants to hear all kinds of opinions from officials, their personal points of view. At the same time, they should keep in mind that they are working for the state and should stick to the established policy. In this regard, he recalled his recent visit to the Ustensky innovative dairy complex in Orsha District: not all officials supported this project. Yet, it was decided during a discussion that this farm should be built.

“Opinions collide as we are trying to arrive at the right decision. There should be competition everywhere, I am for it. But don’t break the law. If we don't stop this violation of the law in society now, our children will clash with each other, like in the West. Why are they trying to rock the boat here all the time? They in the West do not like our reality. But we need stability,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

The head of state pointed to the shortage of anesthesiologists in Belarus. Some anesthesiologists leave to work abroad after receiving free education in Belarus, and this is a rather rare medical specialty. According to the President, it is necessary to find a solution to this problem.

“You train anesthesiologists-intensivists for free. And even those who pay for their tuition - pay little. We provide education free of charge, and even if we charge, the tuition cost is 10 times smaller than in America or Germany. We trained a medical professional free of charge and then he said good bye and went abroad to earn money. This is a problem, and you should come up with solutions, up to draconian methods and submit your proposals to me in the new year,” the head of state said setting a task to the healthcare minister.

“If you graduate from a university, be ready to work here for 10 years. After that, if you want to go somewhere - reimburse us the cost of tuition, and then go. Or let your new employers pay for you. Then leave, you will be replaced by new blood. We need to dot all the i's. In the new year, you should submit proposals,” the President said.

Chief Physician of Orsha Central Polyclinic Sergei Karaka told the President about the structure of healthcare facilities in the region, the outcomes of work of Orsha City Hospital No.1 and provision of routine and emergency medical care, including for COVID-19 patients.

When in the hospital, Aleksandr Lukashenko visited the departments of intensive care and anesthesiology, trauma surgery and angiography. The President was told about the treatment of patients, purchase of modern medical equipment. The head of state also studied the treatment of COVID-19 patients. He visited the “red zone’ of the intensive care and pulmonology department.

Sergei Karaka told the head of state about the epidemiological situation and the progress with vaccination. According to him, the region has recently seen a decline in COVID-19 cases, the number of discharged patients is growing, and the number of hospitalizations is lower than the number of discharged patients. The doctor assured that vaccination obviously has an important role in creating herd immunity. It is possible for a fully vaccinated person to contract COVID-19, but it does not appear to be a significant risk. “We discharged 72 people yesterday, 26 were admitted,” he said.

After the tour of the hospital the President talked to the personnel of the healthcare institution.

One of the healthcare workers noted that Orsha is expanding, but not all the roads are good. For example, there is a problem with the road leading to the railway station in the Vostochny district.

“I think we will solve this problem. This is not such a big problem,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. The city authorities have already been working on the issue. The necessary project documentation is being prepared.

The President said that the country was busy building large national and international highways, local roads were left aside. Now it is high time to take care of them. The President stressed that all agro-towns should be connected with district centers and oblast centers by good roads.

“We have a program, which we need to complete. We need to create good conditions for our people across the country, not only in Minsk,” the head of state said.

During the working trip to Orsha Aleksandr Lukashenko deviated from the schedule and visited Orsha Meat Canning Plant. He announced his decision to inspect the company during his visit to Orsha City Hospital No. 1 named after Semashko.

The head of state had already visited this enterprise in mid-June. This time he decided to use this occasion to see how things were going at the plant. The President inspected the almost completed new workshop where beef and pork will be processed.

The project to build the new workshop made significant progress since Aleksandr Lukashenko’s last visit. All the necessary technological equipment was installed, and commissioning works will be launched in the nearest future. The first products will be rolled out in the early 2022.  Yet, it will take about two more years for the workshop to reach the design capacity. This has to do with the expansion of the plant’s raw material base.

The new workshop will house two meat processing plants under its roof. This is the only such project in the country. The productivity of the new workshop will be twice as high as the current capacity. Every little detail was taken care of to ensure high quality of products.

A reminder, when touring the enterprise in June, Aleksandr Lukashenko asked about the operation of the new workshop and plans for the old production and utility buildings. The President was told that these buildings will be demolished, part of the grounds will be handed over to the city.

“We need a smart approach. First of all, you should think whether you need these grounds in the future or not. We can turn this place around,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.

During the June visit the President was interested in the availability of raw materials for the new workshop. The head of state was told that the work with raw material zones had begun in advance. The share of domestic raw materials was expected to account for 75-80% of the plant’s total raw materials by the end of 2022.

The head of state toured the facilities under construction at the plant, visited the canned baby food production shop and the warehouse. Here again the topic of sales surfaced again. The company complained that some retail chains charge slotting fees to secure a place on their shelves. The President demanded to sort the situation out and remove all difficulties.