“We are short on doctors; some colleagues are ill or in training, but we cannot stop seeing patients,” she shares.
Although the reception was supposed to end at noon, at 2:00 PM, Zhanil continues to work as patients arrive with high fevers, coughs, and runny noses. Children also frequently experience seizures due to fever. By morning, she had already referred two patients for additional examination, who were diagnosed with pneumonia.
Overload of Doctors and Increase in Complications
Each doctor is currently seeing almost three times more patients than usual: instead of 12-14 people a day, their numbers reach 35-40. Due to the shortage of specialists, patients are forced to wait a long time for their turn. To serve everyone, doctors stay at work even after their shifts end.“We have no other choice. The flow of patients does not stop,” say the doctors in the capital.Doctors also express concern about the increase in complications. In recent weeks, the number of pneumonia cases has significantly risen, and severely ill patients have to be referred to hospitals, while others are monitored on an outpatient basis.
Extension of Working Hours at Family Medicine Centers
In response to the worsening epidemiological situation, family medicine centers have extended their working hours. They now accept patients until 8:00 PM on weekdays and operate on weekends: on Saturday from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, and on Sunday from 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Asel Tenizbaeva, the city coordinator and director of Family Medicine Center No. 6, reports that due to the large influx of people, additional rooms have been opened for those who could not make an appointment in advance.Self-Medication Issues and Increase in Pneumonia Cases
“Medical professionals provide consultations to everyone who comes in, so patients can get examined and receive prescriptions without long waits. We accept everyone, regardless of registration or place of residence. However, self-medication causes serious problems: many first buy medications based on advice from acquaintances or information from the internet and come to the doctor only when laryngotracheitis or pneumonia develops. As a result, hospitals are overflowing, affecting both adults and children,” notes the physician.Reprofiling of Hospitals and Lack of Beds
The most critical situation is in children's hospitals. In the third city children's clinical hospital, several departments, including ENT and nephrology, have been repurposed for patients with ARVI, allowing for the deployment of 55 beds. However, even with the increase in bed capacity, spaces fill up instantly. To strengthen the staff, family doctors are being sent to duty in infectious hospitals and children's wards. Ambulances are also operating in an enhanced mode, recording a sharp increase in calls and the need for urgent hospitalizations.Recommendations for Citizens
Medical professionals urge residents of the capital to limit attendance at mass events and to see a doctor at the first signs of illness. In family settings, infections spread quickly: if one child falls ill, it is almost inevitable that others will become sick, and the illness can pass from parents to children. With a high fever and worsening condition, a child must not be sent to school or kindergarten - it is dangerous for them and for those around them. Tenizbaeva reminds that patients can contact their family doctor, call a doctor to their home, or receive an online consultation.Illness Statistics Confirm the Presence of an Epidemic
According to the Ministry of Health, from November 17 to 23, 13,054 cases of ARVI and influenza were registered in Kyrgyzstan. Laboratory studies show that among the tests, not only seasonal viruses are present but also COVID-19, rhinoviruses, adenoviruses, RSV, and other pathogens. This indicates that the republic is experiencing a peak in illness, and the burden on the healthcare system remains extremely high.
