Collapse of Tabib operation and causes of population’s mistrust to this department

Press and social networks of Azerbaijan publish every day materials testifying to poor performance of the Tabib State Agency for Compulsory Health Insurance under the government of Azerbaijan. Authors of these materials, citizens of the country, narrate about deaths of their family members due to the unduly medical aid.

The first and most impressive confession proved to be an open letter by journalist Seymur Kazimov to the chairman of Tabib Board, Ramin Bayramly. Details of his father’s death – first aid and hospitals declined from hospitalizing him without a coronavirus testing certificate – were published in Turan, in an article titled "Father of country’s well-known journalist died due to unprofessionalism of Tabib."

It has to be kept in mind that the Seymur’s open letter dated June 15 remained unanswered by Tabib,  Kazimov told Turan. He added that a Tabib representative told a lie as saying that patients were hospitalized. "There numerous cases testifying that patients without Covid-19 testing certificates or with a negative test were not hospitalized by clinics".

Pt ought to ne noted that a reader, Sabina Nazarova, revealed one of the reasons of shortage of vacant beds at hospitals was the fact that the rich – they confessed her personally- reserved beds for them and their relatives at Covid-19 hospitals in case of contamination.

Adding to the above is that an aunt of country’s well-known lawyer Shahla Humbatova died after she received no medical aid even despite pressing calls to «103». For three days the family had to wait for coronavirus testing results.

In turn, journalist Khagani Safarogly appealed to the head of Tabib calling him to deal immediately with Baku Center of Clinic Medicine №1 ("Semashko"). Patients of this Center demand urgent medical examination and medical drugs. A Khagani’s relative was taken to this hospital and shocked at what he witnessed there. The hospital has no doctors, medical drugs, patients are writhing with pain, the journalist phoned seven telephone numbers of the hospital but was answered that it had not been their problem.

"To be exact, Tabib has turned  "Semashko" into a concentration camp with its closed space, lack of information about patient’s health conditions ", Safarogly notes.

It is important to note that the Caucasian site Jam-news.net published an article on shortcomings in the struggle against coronavirus in Azerbaijan. The articled dealt with a story of a patient from Baku Tabib declined to give her a certificate on positive coronavirus test. Appropriate information is provided in electronic form only. "When she asked to give her testing results, they replied that they would not do it, and that was President’s order».

It’d be difficult to have legal proceedings with a state organization without a documentary certificate on positive testing result.

Problems coronavirus patients are facing are reported in letters of readers published by medical site Medprosvet.az:

"M. F., 37 years old. I received a positive testing result on June 19, 2020. On 20 June,.2020 a district doctor from A. A. Kazimov City Hospital #1 phoned me at 15.00 and asked about my health conditions. When she learned that I was a latent patient, she prescribed prophylactic drugs and advised me not leave home for 14 days. I asked her to open a medical certificate of unfitness for work but she replied that no certificate was given to coronavirus patients -  "icazəyoxdur", she stressed. From now on, polyclinics decline from giving certificates while a personnel department refuses to charge wages without a medical certificate. What needs to be done?"

A second letter came from a reader, Shabnam Agayeva. A letter’s original in Azeri as referred to: https://med-prosvet.az/az/blog/222

- Patient name is Sabina Shihgeybet gyzy Ismaylova (registered at Gusar region). She suffered from short cough for three weeks and tyroiditis; 2 weeks ago underwent CT at Gusar region to test her lungs; examination proved normal. Upon return to Baku her cough intensified, grew into phlegm and asphyxia; pains in the chest and lungs appeared; temperature rose to 38-39. 

 On June 9, 2020, coronavirus testing was taken, there were three of us. Sabina’s health conditions were very serious, two of us had temperature 37 for days. Taking a swab, a first aid doctor stressed that Sabina’s conditions were very sery serious and that she needed to be taken to hospital.

Doctors assured that she would run through re-computer tomography. Following CT results she would be taken to Astara, for there were no vacant beds in Baku. No CT was conducted due to late at night. It was suggested to take the patient to Astara without examination.

The patient asked whether she would be examined at Astara?  Bout a first aid doctor said there was no CT examination in Astara». Then the patient refused to leave the place without examination. She was taken home; her relatives tried to get in touch with Tabib, hot line, Minidtry of Public Health, operations department. All of them noted that the patient needed to be taken to hospital, call 103. And again the first aid comes to repeat that there no vacant beds at hospitals. In the meanwhile, her health condition aggravated, she suffered from diarrhea and vomiting. On June 10, the patient appealed to the Diagnostic Medical Center and underwent CT. CT revealed opaque fragments of «icy glass» in basal segments of left lung and pleuraparenchimatoze hardening in basal-laser segment.

They phoned telephone numbers as follows: 0124924161, 0125050330, 0124927554, 0125051333, 0125657103, 103, 102, 1542, 0125659106, 0125654106, 9103. Note that a first aid arrives to give recommendations only and renders no aid. For three days we are trying to get in touch with operations department; they say that our complaint has been received; but no answer is available. A first aid arrived at 2 o’clock night. Girl’s health conditions aggravated, and again they declined from rendering aid. They phoned the Center; however, the Center said that no vacant beds were available both in Baku and regions. Private clinics decline from taking a patient after they are informed of the diagnosis. «We do not take virus patients. It is the responsibility of the state to help you». Late at night yesterday (at 2 o’clock) a first aid said that new hospitals in Baku receive top officials only. We have to obey orders and cannot do anything, they replied. It’d be better for her to undergo a medical treatment at home".

Note that Sabina’s health is aggravating at home conditions. If asphyxia lasts longer, what else can we do?- a letter’s author asks.

The story mentioned above is just one of tens of similar cases we heard from patients. The test is negative. КТ imaging is specific. From clinical point of view, a patient’s condition is either moderately serious or very serious. A patient is not hospitalized. We asked the operations department to give an OPERATIVE answer to the case and called medprosvet.

An official reply from Tabib was received and published after a patient’s complaint against clinical hospital #1-in Baku due to medicines used and lack of infectionists.

 "Not only infectionists but physicians of other profiles have been drawn in the struggle against pandemic worldwide. Also, doctors of all professions are engaged in Azerbaijan to serve patients ar pandemic hospitals. But this is not to say that patients at special treatment hospitals are treated arbitrarily. Treatment at all medical institutions is carried out to comply with protocols based on temporary COVID-19 guiding principles. At the same time a doctor-infectionist is responsible for each hospital’s coordination", says Tabib report.

Why does Tabib fail to cope with its tasks? The number of coronavirus infected and deceased grows every day. Actions of operation department in charge of pandemic under the Cabinet of Ministers yield no result. The meanwhile, neighboring Georgia reports on redoubled number of infected daily where the number of infected rose from 2 to 4 persons!

In the course of talks with Turan, experts shared their views on destroyed and currently missing independent civil society in Azerbaijan. If existed, it could control activities of state structures and even lead the nationwide struggle against pandemic, head of medprosvet site Zaur Oruj said in an interview to Turan. 

In reality, the situation is different. Mass media and journalists empowered are admitted to attend Tabib press-conferences. Suffice it to remind that Meydan-ТВ representatives are not allowed to take part in briefings. Pro-governmental sites decline from telling the truth. It is not surprising that the lack of actual information or incompatibility of official statements with real events is disclosed by readers to arouse mistrust to quarantine measures. As a result, citizens decline from wearing masks or standing the quarantine at home. Moreover, the largest public organization of the country – ruling Party "Yeni Azerbaijan " has kept itself aloof from the struggle against coronavirus while the Party consisting of several million members could have campaigned to urge citizens comply with rules of personal safety and thus secure citizens against coronavirus.