More than 7 thousand false disability certificates were canceled

Baku/23.03.21/Turan: For some time now, there have been complaints from individual citizens, they complain that if they have serious diseases, the degree of disability is not established correctly, and in many cases it is not established at all.

These complaints, along with veterans who received various injuries during the Second Karabakh War, are also expressed by other citizens.

Some human rights activists say the number of such cases is gradually increasing.

Do people with disabilities in Azerbaijan lose their degree? What are the reasons for this?

The report of the Cabinet of Ministers for the last year says that in 2020, on the basis of a referral issued by state medical institutions, an initial determination of disability was carried out among 13.2 thousand people. This is 53.0% less than in 2019.

It was noted that the number of persons who were initially diagnosed with a 1st degree disability amounted to 1.7 thousand people, 5.2 thousand people received a primary disability of a II degree, and 2.7 thousand people received a primary disability of a III degree. Compared to 2019, this is 46.0% less for I degree, 51.0% less for II, and 49.0% less for III. Of these, 3.6 thousand people were children with disabilities, which is 60.0% less than in the previous year.

Ilgar Mehdiyev, a resident of Baku, told Radio Azadlig that his friend suffers from severe goiter, but cannot get a disability. "They cut everyone with the same brush. A disabled person is not given a disability because he was not in the hospital. That is, if he was sick, he would be in the hospital. My friend who suffers from goiter, who had operation, his eyes remained bulging, and he was deprived of his pension, because he was not in the hospital. He wrote to Mehriban Aliyeva, but there was no reaction."

Z.G., a resident of the Ujar region, claims that he is denied disability, although he is a bedridden patient.

 “I underwent surgery three times. One leg practically does not work, besides, I have blood pressure and diabetes mellitus. But they don't want to grant me a disability."

The complainant says, despite repeated appeals to the Ujar Central District Hospital, he is answered: "We sent the documents and a refusal came." “But I don’t believe it because this answer is not on the official letterhead. Why am I not entitled to a pension? If not for me, then for whom?

The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population reported that in accordance with the changes introduced by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 446 of November 11, 2016 to the "Regulations on medical and social expert commissions", the definition of disability is carried out in electronic form. "That is, the information on the registration of a referral for the assessment of disability is transmitted electronically in the centralized information system (CIS) to the subsystem of medical and social examination and rehabilitation (SMSER)."

As reported in this regard in the structure, a citizen applies to the health care institution at the place of his registration for registration of this direction. "All information becomes anonymous through the SMSER and encrypted. After that, the system sends an electronic referral to one or another medical and social expert commission (MSEC) to assess disability."

The Ministry added that the report contains the results of all functional diagnostic, laboratory, X-ray studies reflecting the state of human health, the main and additional diagnosis, detailed objective data of specialists, the treatment measures taken and their effectiveness, the clinical prognosis - all this justifies the limitation or loss of labor human activities.

It was emphasized that the CIS, which accepted the shipment in electronic form, based on the data on the state of the disease specified in this document, within 3 working days, makes a decision on the appointment of disability or refusal. "Medical instructions are also provided on the need to determine the measures of social protection of a person or the absence of such a need, and information on the labor guarantee is determined. These data with an enhanced electronic signature are entered into the SMSER and approved by the enhanced electronic signature of the chairman and members of medical and social expert commissions."

The Ministry added that many international organizations positively assess the definition of disability through an electronic system. "The advantage of the electronic system is that the applicant does not have live communication with those who make the decision, and this allows certain negative situations to be avoided. The problem is not in the system, but in the participants in the system; if some medical employee fills in the data wrongly, either willingly or unwillingly, it is not the system that is to blame, but these people. Currently, these data are filled in manually, and the person who fills them in can write whatever he wants."

The Ministry noted that work is underway on methods to combat these individuals. “Other participants in the system of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population are working together with the State Agency for Compulsory Health Insurance, and the methods will soon be improved to ensure full targeted information exchange and objective decision-making. Currently, work is underway to fully automate the filling of the direction, thereby eliminating subjectivity. The system will be improved so that people who are eligible can get a degree of disability without any problems, and those who are not eligible can never get it."

The department emphasized that at present the number of applications for the establishment of disability is too large, and often exaggerated data and diagnoses that correspond to reality are found. "For example, the results of a blood test do not coincide with the diagnosis, etc. That is, the noted data are paradoxically contradictory. Currently, inspections are being carried out, and the annual financial burden is over 35 million manats, more than 7,000 false disability appointments have been canceled."

Economist Natig Jafarli told Radio Azadlig that earlier the number of persons with disabilities in Azerbaijan proportionally exceeded the population. "For example, the population of Belarus is about the same as ours, but our number of people with disabilities is 4 times greater than theirs."

The expert believes that this is due to the establishment of a false disability. “In 2018-2020, there were arrests in connection with the false assignment of disability. Chairmen, deputies of regional structures were arrested in connection with this issue. The Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population spoke, stating that there were problems with ensuring disability. Previously, people were given a degree of disability for money, inflating these numbers, but now they want to stop it."

N. Jafarli says that this had its negative consequences. “While fake disabilities have declined, both the guilty and the innocent have suffered as a result. By insuring themselves against prison, the procedures were so complicated that even those who really need a disability cannot get it and suffer accordingly."   —0—