Opinions & Interviews

Lukashenko in favor of raising prestige of general practitioners

MINSK, 13 December (BelTA) – We need to raise the prestige of a general practitioner in the country, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at the meeting with students and teachers of medical universities on 13 December, BelTA has learned.

“It is necessary to raise the prestige of a general practitioner. He should know all the methods of providing specialized care in simple cases. Any patient will be satisfied if his doctor can perform the necessary diagnostic examination and prescribe the correct treatment in a timely manner. The future belongs to such doctors,” the head of state believes.

He noted that the country applies a differentiated approach to the list of medical services in the city and in the countryside. Currently, more than 3,500 general practitioners - therapists who have received in-depth training - work in outpatient and polyclinic organizations in Belarus.

“But I am concerned about the cautious opinion of people about the competence of these specialists. I think this will pass. Our people got just used to having area specialists in every village. Do we need this? No, we do not. The richest countries have opted in favor of GPs or family doctors. It is the right thing to do,” the head of state believes. "We will move in this direction. The fact that people do not see the benefits of it yet is the excesses of our old system. We will allay their concerns,” he said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko also noted that in Europe and the United States it is a general practitioner, or the so-called family doctor, that people interact most often, sometimes from generation to generation.