Private clinic may open in Stepanakert

Anahit Danielyan
23-02-2008 16:35:25 – KarabakhOpen

Interview with the NKR minister of health Armen Khachatryan

Mr. Khachatryan, does the ministry have statistics of patients who died
due to the doctor’s mistake over the past few years?

We do not have such information, and as far as I know, no efforts have
been made in this direction. I should note that we have foreseen such
efforts. It is time to address this problem, to find out the state of
things and what activities are needed to reduce deaths.
Unfortunately, there are such facts but I cannot say what percentage
such accidents comprise. Each hospital should tabulate patients which
should also include the necessary activities for each disease. Although
each patient should receive individual treatment, there are things
which everyone should do. And when the doctor appears in court, the
doctor has to account for each point of this tabulation. I think this
is going to be one of the first steps towards prevention and reduction
of such cases.

Hence, there is no tabulation at our hospitals?

No, there are only at some departments of some hospitals. We may say it
is absent in the system. By the way, in Armenia it has been introduced
recently.

Do you have any data how many doctors were tried over the past few
years? And generally, what is the punishment of the doctor who has made
a mistake?

The court decides. The last case was that of a doctor of the maternity
hospital, the doctor cannot work at the hospital for 1.5 year, and he
will work for the ambulance station. There are different punishments
for doctors, including fine, firing, loss of license. Doctors may make
different mistakes, therefore every case of death should be studied
thoroughly, not to punish the doctor but to avoid or prevent such cases
in future.

Most patients in Karabakh go to Armenia for diagnosis and treatment?
What percentage of patients go abroad and what are the reasons?

Yes, most patients go to Armenia. One of the main reasons is the lack
of medical equipment. In some cases we know the treatment of the
disease but because we have no possibility for some examination we send
the patient to Armenia. For instance, we have no tomography equipment.
The second reason is the lack of specialists.

Or maybe the specialists are not good enough that is why patients leave
for treatment.

Unfortunately, this is too. There are a lot of doctors who have not
been retrained for the past 10 or 15 years. I have held a meeting at
the Republic Hospital recently and it turned out that over the past 10
years no nurse has been retrained. There are doctors and nurses who
have not been retrained for 30 years. We are going to focus on this
too. A doctor must take a 7-week course once in 5 years. Otherwise, he
has no right to practice.

Is it possible to hold qualification besides retraining?

We are considering this. But first the order of qualification should be
worked out. It is necessary to study all the problems relating to
retraining and qualification. The number of nurses is too big, it is
impossible to send all of them abroad therefore we need to think about
retraining in the country.

Are there people who wish to set up a private clinic in Karabakh and
what is necessary for that?

The law enables it, so it takes funding and wish. Now I cannot provide
more detail but there is someone who wishes to set up a private clinic,
and as far as I know, efforts are already made.

When will the construction of the new building of the Republic Hospital
start?

The place of the building has been chosen, the project is being worked
out. Now I cannot say for sure when construction will start but one
thing is clear that this year it will be launched. The construction
will be funded by both the government and benefactors.

Mr. Khachatryan, there has been a lot of talking about the tomography
equipment. Does it work or not? If not, are you going to buy new
equipment?

The equipment is not working because one of its parts is out of order
and since it is not produced any more, it is very difficult to replace
it. As to new equipment, we have included it in the project of the
second building of the children hospital. Construction has started
recently, and the equipment has not been bought yet. In brief, it is
still under consideration.

Recently an ambulance has been considered. Are there any arrangements
yet?

We have bought two ambulances but it is not enough. The cars lack
equipment. We are going to buy equipment this year. We are now
negotiating with a Yerevan-based company.

The head physician of the ambulance station has been fired, and as far
as I know, the case is under investigation. What is the reason?

There is no conclusion from the office of prosecutor, and I cannot
comment. There was checking, breaches were revealed, and are being
prosecuted.

The heads of other medical establishments have been fired, and it is
interesting to know who was fired and why.

The head physicians of the ambulance station, epidemic dispenser, the
Republic Hospital. The reason is shortcomings in work and breaches made
in past.