Karaganda’s oldest №1 polyclinic has moved to a new 6-storey building of 5 000 square meters. 92 doctors and 200 nurses work in it to serve up to five hundred patients per shift.

These figures are usual for a large multi-disciplinary clinic. But the one in question is a standard polyclinic for 50 thousand residents in residential district Mikhaylovka and surrounding neighborhoods.

Until recently, its poorly equipped units were housed in ground floors of apartment blocks at a considerable distance from each other. It was very inconvenient, especially for patients. Lots of time was spent on moving from one building to another.

Now the outpatient facility has equipment, of which it could only dream few years ago, says the head of healthcare department, Erdenbay Abilkasimov. The situation was improved last year thanks to the government program “Salamatty Kazakstan” and the regional leaders’ efforts.

- What we have now hugely differs from what we had before. This is an up-to-date clinic. It has medical equipment of the latest generation from around the world. We have a Norwegian mammography, the Russian photofluorographic unit, a Brazilian dental complex. X-ray unit is manufactured in Germany, and ENT-processor and video endoscope stand - in South Korea, - Rosa Razieva, the clinic’s director is satisfied with the changes. – Now we have units which didn’t have before because of lack of space. Now the same building houses offices for prevention, general practitioners, consultative, diagnostic, rehabilitation and day hospital for 22 beds, outpatient surgery centers and family health, and others.

Patients can get any medical services without leaving the building. A new regional governor Abelgazi Kusainov could see it for himself. The total project cost is 976 million tenge, 240 million of which was allocated from the national budget for purchasing modern equipment.

According to a deputy head of the healthcare department Tulegen Sadvakasov, before the arrival of the medical equipment, the clinic’s doctors were trained to be able to handle it properly.

In short, modern conditions, accessible health care, high-tech equipment will help identify early stages of diseases and timely prevent them, rehabilitate and treat our citizens.

Natalia Ryzhkova

Karaganda

Photo: Dmitry Kuzmichev