12.12.2017

On December 12, 2017, a meeting devoted to the current issues of the healthcare sphere of our country was held under the chairmanship of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev. 

Today, our compatriots are feeling the results of reforms implemented in all spheres of their everyday life, including cardinal improvement of quality and living standards of the population. 

Ensuring the guarantees of a happy and prosperous life, protecting the rights and freedoms of citizens are priority areas of the state policy. 

Further improvement of public health protection, ensuring satisfaction with the activities of the medical system is our most important task, said the President of our country. 

A large-scale activity is being carried out in the healthcare system. A number of decrees and resolutions of the President on development and radical reforming this sphere were adopted. The activity of primary healthcare, emergency medical services, specialized medical services, private medicine, reproductive healthcare and others are determined priority areas of activities. 

There are obvious changes in comparison with 2016. In the current year, the number of family polyclinics increased by 793. 793 rural family polyclinics working round the clock were organized, where an emergency medical care stations and day hospitals were opened. The disease with tuberculosis has sharply decreased. Specialists of republican specialized medical centers traveled to regions 2407 times, meanwhile, in 2016 this indicator was more than 500 times. If last year their services were used by 30 thousand people, this year this figure amounted 220 thousand. About 100 qualified specialists – our compatriots have returned to the country from abroad and now providing services to our people. 

Special attention is paid to provision of medical and social services. Providing people in need with rehabilitative technical equipment has increased to 90 percent. 

Provision of wheelchairs, hearing aids and other means has doubled. 49,3 billion sums were allocated for construction and reconstruction of medical and social institutions, that is 2 times more. 

The scale of work on training personnel for the sphere is expanding. The number of admission quotas for training doctors with higher education has been brought to 3445, of which 1180 are targeted regional quotas. Quotas for training in clinical residency have increased. 

As a result of measures on development of private healthcare sector, the number of medical services provided by its subjects has been increased from 50 to 126, tax and customs privileges have been extended to 2022, a Fund for the development of non-governmental medical institutions has been established at “Asaka” bank, the number of private medical institutions has increased to 400. An atmosphere of healthy competition between state and private medical institutions has been created. 

The amount of funds allocated for the purchase of medicines and medical products amounted to 821 billion sums. This is 3,5 times more than in 2016. 

At the same time, the volume of attracted foreign investments is growing. If 40,2 million dollars were spent in 2016, this figure amounted 93,5 million this year. 

However, there is still much to be done in the sphere. 

Shavkat Mirziyoyev, analyzing the problems and shortcomings in the healthcare system in the context of the regions, noted the incompleteness and insufficient human resources potential of medical institutions at places, that is, currently there is a shortage of more than 11 thousand doctors in the country, as a result of which new medical institutions are incapable of serving the population qualitatively, pointed to the reasons, consequences and ways to solve this problem. 

Weak material and technical base of medical institutions, absence of emergency medical care stations and drugstores in rural family polyclinics, activities of managers impeding the participation of entrepreneurs in development of private medicine were also criticized. 

Particular attention was paid to the fact that, despite the adoption of decrees and resolutions on further improvement of the system of specialized medical care, the activities of branches of republican specialized centers in the regions are not organized at proper level. 

Shortcomings in the activities of republican specialized scientific practical medical centers of pediatrics, surgery, urology, eye microsurgery, cardiology, dermatovenereology, endocrinology, neurosurgery and others, in particular, the inadequate level of work on training and advanced training of local specialists, introduction of modern diagnostic methods and treatment at places, early detection and treatment of diseases, preventive work among the population were discussed, reports of responsible heads were heard. 

Strategic tasks to be implemented in the first half of 2018 were identified in order to eliminate these shortcomings. 

Attention was paid to the fact that the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis must develop and ensure rigorous execution of the six-month plan of measures on constant control and monitoring of reforms that are being implemented in the healthcare sphere. The importance of formation, within a week, of working groups on each region of the executive staff and organization of their effective activities was also noted. 

The need to develop “road maps” on activities of working groups, which should be approved and taken under strict control of the Legislative Chamber in cooperation with the khokimiyats of districts (cities) was emphasized. 

The task was set on development and implementation of a method on providing practical assistance in eliminating the existing problems on the basis of an in-depth study of the real situation at places, and not by conducting inspections. 

For solving the problem of shortage of personnel, the Ministry of Health was instructed, together with local khokimiyats, to determine the need for medical specialists in the context of regions, districts and institutions, to increase target enrollment quotas for admission to the baccalaureate by 20 percent, to magistracy by 10 percent and to clinical residency by 15 percent in 2018, compared with 2017. 

Instructions were given on increasing the amount of allocated funds for the purchase of medical products for emergency medical care at least twice and to take measures on balanced financing in the context of regions in 2018. 

The task was also set on development of a plan of comprehensive measures on protecting motherhood and childhood, taking into account the improvement of providing perinatal services to pregnant women, reducing death rate among mothers, newborns and children, preventing the birth of children with congenital malformations and hereditary diseases, strengthening the material technical base of maternity complexes and children’s hospitals, equipping them with modern equipment, introducing a system of full medical examination of women for prevention, early detection and treatment of oncological diseases.

Instructions were given on systemic development of private medicine. Thus, tasks were set on establishment of an educational and practical center for the development of private medicine in the country and training of qualified personnel for the sphere at “Akfa Medline” private medical center that has been opened in Tashkent, as well as organization of a higher medical education institution of the Republic of Korea and its territorial branches in the capital, in cooperation with this medical center. 

The Jokargy Kenes of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, khokimiyats of regions, districts and the city of Tashkent were instructed to organize more private medical institutions of narrow specialization with their own hospitals taking into account the morbidity indicators of the population and needs of the regions, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health.

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