A day in the life of doctor Azer Gabibovich

Azer woke up at seven sharp in the morning, with no alarm-clock as it happened inhis student days at the faculty of medicine of a well-known Turkish university. At that time, he was charged with energy and power. He will be the best in his class. He will return and conquer Baku. Today, no energy of this sort is available. Nor expectations. Everything changed contrary to what he imagined in his student days. He got a brilliant education and practice in Turkey; however, everything was useless; different sort of things was required.

He failed to conquer summit, for all was occupied. Now he faces another challenge - how to survive! How to get out of the rain and bring home the bacon.

The situation at work repeats itself from day to day. A day of Azer Gabibovich was sometimes reminiscent of a day of Solzhenitsyn" Ivan Denisovich in its present-day form "with human face". At any rate, it was drearily and sometimes insecure...

Azer was going to get to the shower bath unnoticeably but his wife"s voice said: "Give me money". Money again... "I"m taking the kid to the polyclinic to make analyzes and vaccination. At least, 50-60 manats were required to pay for analyses and get effective vaccinations". Despite formal free services at public hospitals and polyclinics, one ought to pay for everything. Thus, sick-call go for10-20 manats, etc. per each service-X-ray, analyses, medical drugs, bandages and cotton...

Note that Azer got to his work by a beautiful Korean bus unadapted to rush-hours with its neither get in, not get out.

Finally, there is a habitual public clinic. It is essential to visit a chief doctor of hospital ER who is in charge of patients" distribution. Failing to reward the chief doctor, you"ll have no patients. And Azer rewarded the service.

Next comes a formal quickie once a week. Note that earlier the doctors discussed case histories, shared medical news. But now debates concentrate on the number of patients and chief doctor"s instructions-draw it mind and take care of money.

No chief doctor"s rounds are carried out: from now on a patient goes to a doctor from a reception ward, nor debates over case histories take place. In other words, cure your patient and take money from him...

Following a quickie Azer was forced to pay membership fees (1 manat a month - $0.6) to a chairman of hospital cell of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (NAP) which Azer and the whole medical staff were forcibly affiliated to.

It"d be appropriate to note that not only doctors and teachers but nearly all public employees were forcibly made NAP members. Azer did not protest. He is not a hero; he is a no-one important, just 1 manat a month. Let him alone. That"s something at least.

But there are excitant exceptions. Thus, Rena khanum from cardiology department refused to join the NAP. They hinted that it was not good but to no purpose, and she left alone. Even better, at her spare time she was openly reading an opposition newspaper to demonstrate her independence. A medium level doctor with no education abroad, she withstood. Perhaps, the reason did lie in education but why? Azer Gabibovich failed to guess this riddle ...

A working day began, first patients were to come, sometimes from reception department, sometimes individually. A therapeutist is paid 10 to 20 manats by a patient. Next follow a course of treatment - about 50 manats under agreement. Daily earnings go to 200 manats. Authoritative doctors have approx. 500 manats a day.

Also, a doctor should pay ready money to hospital nurses. If failed, they will not offer a glass of water to a patient. Azer Gabibovich" nurses earn about 500 manats a month.

Once a month it is necessary "to honor" the chief doctor - it goes for 200 to 500 manats, i. e. your daily takings.

A medium level therapeutist may earn 2,000-3,000 manats a month while his monthly payment is 400-500 manats. Note that a surgeon earns three times more a month.

The point worth reminding is that the treatment at private clinics is twice more costly. But it is quieter at private clinics: you pay under predetermined tariff. It remains unclear what happens to earnings of doctors after introduction of insurance medicine, so all persons concerned are anxious about the current situation. Why are all these changes?

One must bear in mind that the management both of public and private clinics forces a doctor to extort as much money as possible from a patient; a doctor is compelled to complicate or even fabricate a diagnosis; prescribe useless procedures and surgical operations; however, Azer Gabibovich has refused to go along with his colleagues. It is so hard to work today: all employees are technically competent and vigilant capable of videoing lop-ears. The whole country will watch your grafting at YouTube. So, Azer Gabibovich lives on shoestring, and he is minded to sleep with a peaceful sleep.

At one time in the beginning of his career Azer protested against actions of his colleague who prescribed an expensive course of treatment of oncological disease even despite the fact that the patient was not oncologically ill. Damned money! Azer was indignant at this behavior.

At first, he appealed to the doctor himself but to no avail. Then he informed the director. A commission was set up that gave a reprimand to the complainant. Azer was put to shame and charged with betrayal and tripping doctors up, etc. At present, colleagues are not on speaking terms with Azer, he is a betrayer. His close friend faulted him for inability to earn money... However, Azer Gabibovich became accustomed to charges of this sort; and, he was not minded to make a false diagnosis.

The point is that Azer is a good workman, skilful in curing diseases. However, not everything was dependent on him. Note that hospital nurses, correct analyses, bad drugs and related physicians have always failed Azer. He was in no position to prove out the situation. The last time, at COB he prescribed a medicine for a patient; however, hospital nurses gave wrong injection to the patient following which he nearly died. Fortunately, he was saved. What needs to be done with faked or faulty medicines that overfilled town pharmacies? Medicines are brought from Germany, Turkey, even Georgia and as a consequence, patients come to see а doctor again as saying that "your medicines are unavailing".

Note that Azer Gabibovich drew on as well but in all fairness. It is impossible to survive when you earn just 500 manats a month. Is it illegal? Yes! However, according to the Roman Law: "If a person doesn't mind, nothing of what is happening to him is not illegal"

From morning to break Azer examined five patients. Break is now, Azer took a sandwich and got deeper into Internet. It"d be possible to call on a library of the Medical Institute, read medical journals; however, the only book he read over the last 210 years proved to be a collected poems by Majnun Geychali.

Hence, Internet is more interesting. Atfirst, alarming news - wars, crisis, and impending apocalypses; then, pleasurable news, for example, actresses looking for sponsors, etc. Here comes a favorite Internet forum. There is a section on medicine. Forum visitors are sharing their views and experience arising from conflicts with home medicine. It is so interesting to read about yourself.

- A knife-wielding doctor at Sumgait dental clinic attacked a chief doctor. The attacker was detained. Reasons of the attack are not known.

- The population expended 0, 5 bln manats (about $300 mln) for paid medical services.

- Internet placed a conversation recording between doctors of the Oncological center and a patient. The doctors demanded money from the patient for statutory free medical services.

- Note that 70,3% of all medical appointments fell on a share of private sector of economy in 2017. It is a difference in payments between public and private medical institutions that causes outflow of professional cadres into private sector.

- The surgical department ablated a wrong leg of an old diabetic, and finally, the surgeon was fined 500 manats.

The Ministry of Health declines from providing to the State Statistics Committee information about the number of abortions, suicides and deaths at hospitals: doctors are seeking to discharge a patient home in an effort to avoid his death at hospital, the fact that damages statistics.

- A doctor carried out no analyses as saying that I had a cancver, and operation was required. I was shocked, went to another doctor, carried out analyses that showed no cancer.

- Under official statistics, approx. 70, 000 citizens leave Azerbaijan to take a course of treatment abroad. Destinations are different- Turkey, Iran, India, Israel, Russia, Belarus, Czechia, the USA. Note that a medical tourism dynamics with participation of Azerbaijani patients tends to grow.

- A patient wrongly underwent cutting instead of urinary bladder at a hospital of English town of Lester. He obtained 20, 000 pounds worth compensation.

- Four brothers from an Apsheron village beat a doctor up badly enough to draw blood. The point is that the doctor kept their dead father at resuscitation for four days after his death and took money from them per each day but did not let them to their father. However, somebody ratted on the doctor, so the brothers dispatched him.

- My mother has been deprived of an appropriate quantity of free medical drugs - she has 2 times less even despite the fact that the state allocated 30 mln manats for tyhis purpose. No free apparatus for sugar calculation has also been provided.

- Prosthesis of hip joint goes for 5000 manats; sometimes the H. Aliyev Fund grants it free but no money is paid to doctors for their work, so the latter in every possible way rat on operations.

- In the meanwhile, quackery began developing, the so-called childag. A visit to childar substitutes a visit to a psychologist.

- A journalist holds an action of protest in front of a building of the Ministry of Health. He insists that he has no money for medical drugs (meant to be given freely), that"s why he undressed to sell his clothes and buy drugs for his mother.

- According to Rauf Nagiyev, a head of the Emergency Medical Aid: "If we compare the much-praised German medicine with that of Azerbaijan, I"d say that the Azerbaijani medicine has left the German one far behind.

- A book "How to secure against doctor" was issued several years ago in Israel. The book considers questions of medical mafia worldwide; a doctor may elongate treatment, roll over patient examination and thus have additional earnings, etc.

- At present, the medicine is least financed sphere of the country. Low wages of doctors are main reasons of corruption at medicine. Our free system of public health has fully been destroyed. There is no free medicine, no drugs.

- Treatment in Iran cost me 2 times cheaper than in Baku and more effective.

- Appointment in Iran is 60 manats to be used for all analyses, examination and diagnosis. Medical drugs are cheap and more qualitative.

- Nobody supervises doctors" activity, the Ministry of Public Health disengaged from the matter. Nothing has been heard about court decisions regarding their unprofessionalism or corruption activity. There are no newspapers to file a complaint. There is no place to complain..."

Azer Gabibovich was in mid newswire; however, break was about to end. Patients should appear soon. It was so pleasant that nothing happened to him. And will never happen.

By close of business Azer received three more patients, 45 minutes per each. When leaving his room, he saw his former patient seating at an armchair. The doctor treated him for three months, operated and finally cured. However, this time his patient had a stony stare with a log file in his hand and it was evident that he had a bone to pick with Azer.

Dead right...The former patient put a log file on the table and began faulting Azer Gabibovich for taking too much money for his treatment. In the meanwhile, he emphasized, the treatment was free of charge in the country. In so doing, he dabbed with his finger to the log full of clippings with legislative acts, decrees of President and Ministerу which meant that Azer Gabibovich must return money to the patient. He also touched upon his hard material status, necessity to pay for medical drugs and treatment. Also, he should equip children with school uniform, school text-books, gifts for teachers. It was true. What should Azer Gabibovich do? All was fair and unfair simultaneously.

However, Azer feared for the scandal. It was necessary to get rid of this stupid person, and then consult his friends. Many people come across this situation; but Azer Gabibovich - for the first time.

He came home drugged with fatigue. Declined from supper. Put on a TV-set but watched silent.

Why did he become a doctor? To stop a headache?

Is there a profession to save a man from risks and everyday tensions?

There is not such a profession. Nowhere in the world. And everybody runs through it.

And a day in the life of Azer Gabibovich will be repeated again.