ЮГ Times. For over five years, the Public Centre “Right for Health” has been helping patients who consider that their right for free drug treatment and medical aid was broken. Nikolai Chernyshuk, director of the Centre and physician of the Regional Clinical Hospital, tells the Yug Times what are the problems our fellow citizens face most often at hospital and outpatient departments.
“Cut-price and free procurement of drugs and the quality of medical aid rendered are the two most topical problems. To my great joy, a new problem that has appeared recently is a person’s comfort while he or she is being rendered medical assistance.”
Q.: How would you assess the quality of medical service in Krasnodar region?
A.: This issue may be considered from different aspects, but I’d rather compare it [with other regions]. As a doctor working at the regional hospital I often see patients from other regions - and not only from the nearest ones: Adyghea, Stavropol, Rostov regions, Chechnya and North Ossetia, but also from remoter parts of the country.
Thus I would refer to the level of public health care in Krasnodar region as ‘Russian Switzerland’ or ‘Russian Israel’. I want you to understand me correctly - it has to do first of all with professionalism of the specialists and the level of the equipment, whereas comfort and amenities leave much to be desired.
Q.: What rights do patients have, and how should a patient behave if they think that their rights were violated?
A.: The key norms are stated by the Constitution. The main thing worth remembering is that a patient is entitled for high-quality and prompt medical assistance, as well as for denial of it. There are many advocates in medical sector: insurance companies, Health Care Ministry and lots of different offices, but we have to remember that a patient himself must be the main advocate of his own rights.
When I took up protection of rights in medicine, I heard this joke: in the US, before going to see a doctor, a man calls his lawyer to get good counsel and decide on the forthcoming treatment. There is no such practice in Russia - and, among other factors, it is because there are very few lawyers in this country who know medical issues.
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