TB sick people enrolled for opposition (Photo, video)
- 21.05.2008, 10:33
Former patients of the Vitsebsk tuberculosis hospital, situated in Bahusheusk town (Syanno district), appealed to the authorities against bad keeping conditions in the hospital.
Natallya and Valer Drabysheiskis, both disabled, take annual treatments in the Bahusheusk tuberculosis hospital. They state the conditions there are getting worse every year: patients complain of absence of hot water, bad food and insanitary conditions in overcrowded wards – there are 500 patients instead of 340, as it is prescribed by the health department, Radio Svaboda reports.
According to Natallya Drabysheuskaya, about 100 patients were going to impose a protest hunger strike in some days. But after the organisers- the married couple, were urgently discharged yesterday, the people are afraid to protect their interests openly.
“Patients of the second, third and forth departments were especially indignant,” Natallya Drabysheuskaya tells. “All patients from the sixth department for compulsory treatment would support us. But people from my ward and my husband’s friends phoned to us, they said people were afraid.”
Natallay Drabysheuskaya is not sure there will ne a huger strike, but her husband and she decided to use other method to fight for the rights of sick people. They decided to appeal to a prosecutor’s office and sanitary service against the violations. The Vorsha city prosecutor’s office denied the complaint. They referred Bahusheusk town belongs to Syanno district, not Vosha one. The Drabysheuskis think this decision is incorrect, because they live in Vorsha. They sent by post complaints to prosecutor’s office of Vorsha and Syanno, s well as to the region health department of Vitsebsk.
Pavel Hrebel, head of the organisational and methodical cabinet of the Vitsebsk region TB dispensary, considers the complaints of the patients of the Bahusheusk hospital to be groundless.
“I don’t know why they are dissatisfied. Well, the hospital is overcrowded a little, but it is normal thing,” Mr Hrebel says. “You understand, there much depends on financing, unfortunately. We are not very rich. Our administration visits them every week, but try to understand: when people are told to complain, various “hot lines” are organised, the number of those who want to complaint increases. Accessibility and free medicine corrupt a little...”
Natallya Drabysheuskaya was in the TB hospital in Navaelnya (the Dzyatlava district) in January 2008 and took part in patients’ hunger strike demanding normal conditions. She says the conditions in Bahusheusk are far worse. Her husband Valer Drabysheuski took video of wards, and took some photos with consent of patients. The Drabysheuskis are going to send these materials to the prosecutor’s office and sanitation center to prove their words.
Natallya Drabysheuskaya also told that Natallya Lyasnaya, chief doctor of the Bahusheusk hospital, named her an oppositionist only for the fact she had told to journalists about the problems, and offered her ward mates to read “Tovarishch” newspaper.
Human rights activist Vasil Leuchankou, Natallya and Valer Drabysheuskis