A Minsk Resident: Five Hours In Line To Get A Sick Leave Form Signed

• 13.10.2026, 14:46

There is a catastrophic shortage of doctors in clinics.

A woman from Minsk shared on the social media platform Threads how much time she sometimes has to spend getting the necessary paperwork processed at healthcare facilities.

“Five hours in line and five different offices just to get a sick leave form signed,” she writes. “I don’t believe in hell unless Belarusian clinics are there.”

Belarusians responded to the author of the post, saying that the situation she described is not unusual. The website Charter97.org features some comments:

— That’s quite a surprise! There’s a catastrophic shortage of doctors in clinics.

— Ten hours to get a sick leave form approved. Ten!

— I waited six months on the waiting list to see a doctor for a consultation, only for him to say that they don’t treat this in CIS countries, but I could try. You’ll just waste a lot of money. Get on the waiting list for treatment. Honestly, nothing surprises me anymore.

— Come on! It’s harder to get an appointment with a dentist.

— There aren’t enough doctors; they drove them all away over the past five years—that’s the result.