Officials in Arkhangelsk Oblast responded to Alexander Shanin from Severodvinsk that the Ustyansky District Hospital in the village of Bestuzhevo actually did not have enough health workers. In March, he brought posters about problems with healthcare to governor Alexander Tsybulsky's reception, 29.ru reported.
Alexander Shanin from the Ustyansky District, who currently lives in Severodvinsk, brought posters about healthcare in rural areas, including the shortage of medicines and health workers, to the government of Arkhangelsk Oblast on March 30. The problems with healthcare delivery during the pandemic were the reason for this visit. In November 2020, the 85-year-old mother of Alexander Shanin went from the village of Bestuzhevo to Arkhangelsk to get an operation; she caught coronavirus there and came back home. According to 29.ru, medicines for her could be bought only in the village of Shangaly 60 km away, as the pharmacy in Bestuzhevo closed five years ago.
Shanin sent inquiries to the Ministry of Health of Arkhangelsk Oblast, but received formal replies in response. Because of this, he held a picket at the regional government’s building and then handed the posters over to the governor's reception instead of a written request. Alexander Shanin was invited to a meeting with Acting Minister of Health Alexander Gershtansky on the same day. The official then replied that the problems were being solved, but Shanin received a different response from the Ministry of Health in May.
It says that there are not enough health doctors in the Ustyansky District Hospital: the medical personnel is staffed by 71%, the paramedical personnel — by 66%. 10 doctors were hired in 2020, but in the same year, five doctors resigned. Alexander Shanin received no answers to his questions about the shortage of free coronavirus medication and the lack of a pharmacy in the village of Bestuzhevo.
The journalists of Mediazona have calculated the excess mortality in Russia’s regions during the pandemic for the period from April 2020 to March 2021. In Arkhangelsk Oblast, 22.5% more people died this year than in the last five years in average.