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REACTION COLUMN. Veterinary infirmity
Somehow, veterinary care in the Murmansk region has fallen into a kind of abyss. There are no doctors, no equipment, and you can make an appointment almost anywhere. We publish the story of a Murmansk resident who tried to arrange a date with her cat.
— One of my cats is an “experienced diabetic.” He has been taking daily insulin injections for five years. A crisis occurred. I ran out of sugar in the evening. Then my temperature jumped. I had to go to “Kotonai,” the only open clinic in town. 3 a.m. The receptionist greets us, clicking her tongue and rolling her eyes, and asks, “Why do you think he has diabetes?” Then go to the doctor, raise the cat’s sugar level, lower the temperature, say some parting words, and send him home to see an endocrinologist. During the day, the cat’s condition worsens, vomiting and diarrhea appear, and he begins to refuse food. We have three endocrinologists or at least one doctor who treats diabetics. They have unrealistic queues. I dropped everything and called every clinic one after another and heard the same thing everywhere.
"I have an appointment. My next period is in 3 days. No, don't come now. "There is no one who can see me."
"Unfortunately, there is a surgeon and a traumatologist on duty today. They will not be able to help you. Please find another clinic."
"We have an appointment, so you can sit in a live queue for more than 5 hours. If you don't mind, come on in."
The cat is weakening before our eyes and is not eating. I decided to go to the nearest veterinary clinic to my home – the regional veterinary clinic. There was an appointment and a queue, in which we sat for 3 hours.
During this period, we saw people being sent from X-ray clinics to other clinics because the radiologist was on vacation. People would stand in line for two hours with a dog that had swallowed something, then turn around and try to go to another clinic. We met a friend with a cat. The day before, she had sat there for four hours before going to the doctor and giving the cat an IV.
Here we were lucky, because it was not a doctor who saw me and my cat, but a paramedic. Based on her experience and knowledge, she examined the cat and gave her antidiarrheal and antiemetic medication. And he also sent us to an endocrinologist. There are three places in the city, but I can't go there. The situation is even worse with veterinary oncologists. It seems there is only one. MRI - No.
In view of all this, our beloved "lesser brothers" cannot get sick on their own. This must be done somehow in order to have time to register them in any clinic. Why can't I get emergency care in any veterinary hospital?
— Recently, many good doctors have left Murmansk. And our specialists are highly valued in Moscow and St. Petersburg. So it turns out that if a problem arises, you go to a surgeon in one clinic, and a cardiologist in another. Ultrasound examinations are carried out in many veterinary hospitals, but there are few specialists and appointments are not every day, but 2-3 times a week. Only one clinic is open 24 hours a day, and everyone knows that it has a bad reputation. Not everyone has a hospital. Therefore, if, God forbid, something happens, I quickly find out which clinic is observing someone, and I will try to get there. Personally, my cat got an infection last year and immediately developed a necrotic abscess. I saw it when I came home from work at about 7:00 pm. I ran to the clinic with my cat and sat in line. The manager comes out. This is unacceptable. Come back tomorrow. And the cat has a temperature, it is already difficult to breathe, and it is clear that he will not survive until the morning. So, the reason why I said that I will not go anywhere is that there is nowhere to go. And she cried. The girl sitting next to me quickly pulled shoe covers on my feet and announced that she was ready to give up the planned queue. Two hours later, my cat had an operation," said Alexandra from Murmansk.
— Every day, volunteers face problems with providing veterinary care. It can be said that although there are many homeless animals that volunteers care for, there are not enough doctors in our city. Northerners actively keep pets, and their number has not been equal to the number of veterinarians for a long time. There are queues and appointments to see good doctors, but you can’t get to mediocre doctors even for banal vaccinations, parasite treatment or preventive examinations,” said Victoria Berezina, volunteer coordinator for the Find People foundation. Uzel-Novosti.
According to her, citizens contact the fund every day and ask where the best place to go with their pets is.
"And although we already have a list of doctors that we recommend, it is impossible to get through to them. One 24-hour clinic covering the entire region cannot serve so many animals with owners and volunteers, the quality of this care leaves much to be desired, there are many complaints, and the price tag is clearly not for Murmansk. And doctors in day clinics work overtime in record numbers, sacrificing their time. And even money does not solve anything here. We talked about this with representatives of the Veterinary Council, but they shrug their shoulders. After school, young people go to study to become veterinarians, but do not return. But in big cities, work is more expensive, so they do not have to work as much as we do. We proposed a solution to the problem, but it is nonsense that the region does not have enough doctors for people, and here we are talking about doctors for animals. The situation is sad, no improvement is expected," said Victoria Berezina.
Read: Vehicle speed on the road to Severomorsk has been limited to 40 km/h.