Since 11:30, people waiting for their turn report that they arrived early in the morning but have not been able to see a doctor.
“I arrived at eight in the morning. First, I need to get a referral, then pay at the cashier and undergo fluorography. This took two to three hours. There are still seven people in front of me. When will I get in? I hope I can make it before lunch,” shared one of the visitors to the family medicine center.
Others also speak of chaos in the organization of the process.
“I have been standing here for forty minutes. Everything is extremely poorly organized, although they claim there are no queues,” complains one of the city residents.
Another visitor reported that he has been waiting for an hour, and there are still 10-11 people ahead of him. A girl in the queue added that she is not replacing her license, but only obtaining it.
“I am a student and getting my license for the first time. I didn't expect such a rush. Will I make it before classes? I can't miss university lectures. I'm just in shock and hope the queue gets to me today,” she said.
Another driver noted that there is a separate queue for each doctor.
“This is already the second queue I am in today. In the first one, I completed the necessary documents at 09:15 and stood there for an hour and a half. Here, it seems I will have to wait another two hours,” he shares.
Reasons for the Rush
As explained by the director of Family Medicine Center No. 7, Aiza Soltogulova, the situation with the queues for certificate form 083 has been observed for several days. According to her, the influx began in late October - early November when taxi drivers began to obtain licenses en masse, and when it became known that the training period in driving schools was extended to 14 months.“Usually, certificate 083 is requested by newcomers or those who have lost their licenses. But during this period, there was a real boom. Among the visitors were not only young people but also elderly individuals and foreigners, which is also related to working in taxis. We started accepting more than 80 people a day just for issuing the certificate,” the doctor said.
Load on Medical Staff
According to Soltogulova, the pressure on doctors continues even after the New Year holidays. They sign from 30 to 50 certificates daily, while patients still come to them for regular examinations.
Queues at the Family Medicine Center.
Queues at the Family Medicine Center.
Queues at the Family Medicine Center.
The medic noted that usually one narrow specialist should see no more than 12 patients per shift, allocating 20 minutes to each. However, under the current influx of patients, doctors are forced to see 30-40 people a day.
“Because of this, we have very little time left to work with chronic and dispensary patients. Specialists are mainly occupied with preventive examinations,” the Family Medicine Center added.
Load on Diagnostic Services
Additional pressure is also placed on the fluorography machine. Doctors report that with a norm of 20-25 people a day, the machine serves about 100 patients, including drivers, students, and enterprise workers. This also negatively affects the health of the doctors themselves who work with the machine.Queues are observed in almost all family medicine centers in Bishkek. In one of them, medics complain about the excessive flow of patients and increased workload for which they do not receive additional payment. According to them, it is becoming increasingly difficult to work due to the influx of people.
Queues at the Family Medicine Center.
