Mikhail Vishnevetsky on the prospects for the development of healthcare in the Vitebsk region

The COVID-19 pandemic will end sooner or later, and the region's healthcare system will have to return to addressing previous, equally important tasks, including providing quality and timely care to patients with various other pathologies, diagnosing and preventing socially significant diseases, organizing access to high-level medicine for rural residents, etc. About the plans and prospects of the industry – in an interview with Mikhail Vishnevetsky, Head of the Main Department for Healthcare of the Regional Executive Committee. 

– The healthcare system of the northern region has recently been moving towards the creation of inter-district centers. How do you see the further development of the industry in this regard?

– Today, there are 13 regional and 69 inter-district medical centers operating in the Vitebsk region, which have been formed taking into account transport accessibility, and roadmaps for various disease profiles have been developed.

Currently, a concept of hub clinics and hospitals with expanded capabilities is being developed for each region of the republic. Hub clinics have been established in Vitebsk, Orsha, Polotsk, and Novopolotsk. They have the necessary base for this: an angiograph, magnetic resonance and computed tomography scanners, and minimally invasive and high-tech surgical interventions have been mastered. Such centers allow reducing the time for transporting patients from remote areas in acute conditions requiring emergency medical care.

Given that the Gluboksky district is one of the most populated, has a favorable geographical location and transport network, a good material and technical base, and qualified personnel, the issue of creating a hub clinic based on the local Central District Hospital is being worked out. It is planned to re-equip it with computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scanners, and subsequently with an angiography complex.

Central district hospitals with expanded capabilities are being formed in Braslav and Lepel.

– Much has been done and is being done in the region to reduce mortality from cardiovascular and oncological diseases…

– Indeed, screening programs for breast and prostate cancer, cervical cancer, and colorectal cancer are being implemented in the region, which allows for the early detection of precancerous conditions and oncological pathology. Stationary mammology centers have been established at the regional diagnostic center, Vitebsk City Central Polyclinic, and Polotsk Inter-District Oncological Dispensary. The mobile diagnostic complex of the regional diagnostic center provides examinations for the female population in rural areas. As a result, the early detection of oncological diseases has exceeded 90% of all new cancer cases.

Plans include the development of molecular genetic counseling for both patients suffering from oncological diseases and those with a hereditary predisposition to breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and colorectal cancer.

To prevent mortality from cardiovascular pathologies, an electronic database of patients at high cardiovascular risk has been created for subsequent provision of planned endovascular interventions. A registry of patients who have experienced acute coronary syndrome is maintained, and they are actively monitored. 24/7 interventional cardiology care is provided, with four PCI centers operating in the region. The Vitebsk Regional Hospital houses a department for planned interventional procedures and complex arrhythmias.

As a result, the proportion of circulatory system diseases in the structure of overall mortality causes remains the lowest among the republic's regions. Mortality from cardiovascular diseases has been below the national average for the past 5 years.

– The need to improve primary healthcare delivery has been repeatedly discussed at the state level. What has been achieved in the region, and what still needs to be done?

– Today, the phased transition of district medical services to general medical practice continues. In Postavy, Braslav, Verkhnedvinsk, and Sharkovshchina districts, it is practically completed. General practitioner's offices are functioning in the microdistricts of Vitebsk, Orsha, Polotsk, and Novopolotsk. In these same cities, the pilot republican project "Caring Polyclinic" is being implemented, which involves creating a comfortable environment for patients and conditions for fostering a corporate culture.

In Verkhnedvinsk, a new polyclinic designed for general practitioners has been commissioned.

To improve access to medical care for residents of sparsely populated and remote villages, mobile general practitioner's offices will be organized. Currently, routes and schedules are being developed, and the frequency of their visits is being determined. As a result, we will increase the accessibility of consultative and therapeutic diagnostic care, medication supply, and vaccination for the rural population, as well as preventive medical examinations for agricultural enterprise workers without interrupting their work.

– The pandemic has surely made adjustments to the plans for the development of the healthcare system. What facilities were completed this year, and what is planned for the near future?

– This year, 19.5 million rubles have been allocated for the reconstruction and modernization of healthcare facilities. The most significant achievement was the commissioning of a three-story medical building of the Yurtsevo Regional Hospital for Veterans of the Great Patriotic War by the 75th anniversary of Victory. A major overhaul with landscaping of the adjacent territory of the rehabilitation department of City Hospital No. 3 in Barani, Orsha district, has been completed. A children's outpatient clinic has opened in the Bilevo microdistrict of Vitebsk.

This year, we plan to complete the reconstruction of the medical building of the regional oncology dispensary. As part of the implementation of the Orsha Region Development Program, the development of design and estimate documentation for the construction of a polyclinic in a new microdistrict of the district center has begun.

– How did the medical staff perform during such a challenging period?

– Doctors of almost all therapeutic and surgical specialties were involved in the fight against the infection caused by COVID-19. In addition, 62 intern doctors were engaged in providing medical care to patients with coronavirus. 319 students of the Vitebsk Medical University were involved on a voluntary basis to work as nurses and orderlies.

The medical community demonstrated a high level of responsibility, cohesion, and readiness to work in a complex epidemiological situation. The contribution of everyone who has dedicated their lives to public health protection to achieving the set goals is truly invaluable.

On the eve of Medical Worker's Day, I want to heartily congratulate all my colleagues and express my gratitude for their high professionalism, selfless work, optimism, and dedication to their beloved profession! Thanks to your knowledge, experience, and talent, patients regain their health and return to a full life. I am confident that the potential of your skills is not exhausted, and new victories await us! Success, well-being, prosperity, and health to you and your loved ones!

IN FIGURES: More than 5,000 doctors and 14,000 mid-level medical personnel work in the healthcare organizations of the Vitebsk region. From August 1, more than 550 young specialists, including 252 with higher education, will join their ranks.

Natalia RYBKOVA, photos by Petr CHIMKOVSKY, "Vitebskiye vesti".