Head doctor of a republican children's hospital discharged in Kalmykia upon demand of the Children's Ombudsman

Children's Ombudsman Pavel Astakhov at a conference in Elista on the results of inspection of child welfare institutions during his one-day visit to Kalmykia on December, 8, demanded to discharge Head doctor of the children's hospital.

The program of Astakhov's visit to the republic included familiarizing with state stationary social service institution "Boarding school for mentally retarded children of Elista", special correctional boarding school, social orphanage for children and teenagers, Republican Child's home, rehabilitation center for disabled children and teenagers, Center of interim temporary alimony for under age delinquents of the Ministry of Interior Affairs. However, local authorities did not include the Republican children's hospital into the list of the institutions offered for Astakhov's inspection, he visited it upon a suggestion of one of the local journalists.

"It is a torture machine, not a hospital, - Astakhov declared at the press-conference. - Head doctor Vasily Badmakhalgaev has been holding the office for 15 years and is evidently tired of this work. He already has a severe reprimand for everything going on here but he has learned no lesson from it".

"If I tell you I am extremely indignant this will be too little, - the Children's Ombudsman emphasized. - All the money has been plundered here, general contractor disappeared nobody knows where. It's not a place for inspections but for a criminal case which must be referred to the investigative committee and thoroughly investigated".

"My child recently got a trauma during training and the time we spent in the republican hospital produced a very grave impression on us, - Alexandra Radvi, resident of Kalmykia, told a reporter of "Caucasian Knot". - The lifts do not work and the relatives carry the patients out of the operating room on their arms. And there are awful unsanitary conditions".

"There is only one washstand and one toilet in the whole unit, - a sick child's mother who preferred to remain anonymous said. - There are wards where the children's beds are standing near pulled out wallplates and stuck up electric wires. Food is brought in pails".

Vasily Badmakhalgaev turned out inaccessible for comment. We were told in his reception room that the Head doctor had already been dismissed.

At the end of his visit Pavel Astakhov had a meeting with Alexey Orlov, Head of the republic. "We discussed the theme and he quite agreed with me that it was necessary to identify everyone involved in carrying out the tender, everyone who received the contracts and money, the persons under whose control all these had been, those who saw all this scandalous practices and put up with it. Law enforcement bodies will certainly start investigation of discovered violations and misappropriation of money", Astakhov emphasized.