Anytime soon, a new standard of cancer care to reduce diagnosing time, improve accuracy and start treatment faster is to be introduced in Moscow, with an overhaul of 50 Moscow polyclinics expected next year.
New polyclinics are being built in Moscow, with old hospitals to be reconstructed and cancer centres opened soon. Sergei Sobyanin spoke about Moscow healthcare system development in an interview during 'Our City. Dialogue with Mayor' show by TV Tsentr.
'We have two priorities. The first one is to build new polyclinics, especially on the sites demanding big renovation and new comprehensive development designs for former industrial zones and so on. Our second priority is to reconstruct old hospitals, for many of them built decades ago are made of silicate brick, so they look shabby and require not just some repair, but a comprehensive overhaul. This is a huge program,' Sergei Sobyanin said.
The new Moscow polyclinics standard medical organisations are switching to is to make polyclinics even more comfortable for both patients and doctors. New schemes are being applied to room zoning and location of medical specialists' offices.
'According to the new office location standard, the more people visit a department, the closer it should be located, that is on the first floor, next to the registration office. General practitioners are to occupy the second floor. The third floor will house specialists' offices. The fourth floor will be provided to diagnostics rooms. It will help to evenly distribute visitor flow of visitors,' the Moscow Mayor noted.
Each branch will have eight most in-demand specialists, with another five specialty physicians in the main buildings. About 150 medical specialists have already been additionally employed by city polyclinics.
'People's comfort is our top priority. Not less importantly, apart from renovating and painting walls and supplying equipment, polyclinics must be fully staffed by in-demand doctors according to the standard,' Sergei Sobyanin noted.
Moscow is to introduce a new standard of cancer care to reduce diagnosing time, improve accuracy and start treatment faster.
'Over the years, we have done a lot in this field, including improved medicine assistance, upgraded diagnostics and complex neurosurgeries available today in our clinics. But since this is a disease incurable in many cases, to make a timely diagnosis and start as soon as possible is of primary importance. To do this, we need smooth operation of the entire system, starting from a therapist, a district doctor, up to a Cancer Centre and clinical institution. Moreover, after-treatment observation is required, too,' said Sergei Sobyanin.
It is important for a patient to receive outpatient and inpatient care in one and the same hospital. According to the Moscow Mayor, if a district doctor suspects cancer, he or she must send a patient to a dispensary located within a hospital.
'We have decided to open six Cancer Centres to include both hospitals and outpatient care facilities, supplied with cutting-edge equipment, and, importantly, state-of-the-art labs to ensure accurate diagnosis and further treatment,' Sergei Sobyanin said.
The Moscow Mayor added that a new medicine assistance standard was introduced in Moscow last year, which has significantly reduced the number of patients’ complaints. According to Sergei Sobyanin, shortage of medicines is faced by people who can't be treated with standard drugs. In this case, a doctor will prescribe individually-targeted medication. But sometimes pharmacies cannot procure sufficient quantity of drugs in advance.
'We have decided, on a pilot basis, to provided people with money to go and buy drugs at commercial pharmacies. And the situation has improved significantly. After the experiment proved to be successful, we have decided to expand the list of diseases for people to get medication, with diabetes included, too. But we
ontrol the money to be spent on medicines only,' Sergei Sobyanin added.
In 2020, the overhaul of 50 buildings of Moscow polyclinics is to launch. This is necessary to make the first aid care accessible for citizens and improve the quality of medical care. You can find out how the medical facilities are to look after the overhaul in 'Your New Polyclinic' on mos.ru.
135 polyclinic buildings are expected to be renovated within three years. People will enjoy high level of medical care accessibility, with residents allowed to visit their doctors in other polyclinics, as before.
After the overhaul, medical facilities will boast the most advanced medical equipment. There will be mammography machines, X-Ray and ultrasound appliances, as well as functional diagnostics equipment available in branches. The main buildings will have MRI, CT, densitometers (devices to study the bone tissue), expert-class ultrasound appliances and the equipment to monitor CHD patients recovering from a heart attack or a coronary angioplasty. ■