Dagestan authorities have acknowledged the problem of corruption in the republic's Ministry of Health as unresolved.

Dagestan Prime Minister Magomed Ramazanov stated that residents of the republic are forced to bribe doctors to receive proper treatment, while medical staff are hired for money. Residents of Dagestan, commenting on his words on social media, called for order to be restored within the Ministry of Health.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," the Dagestan Ministry of Health has been repeatedly criticized. On June 7, 2023, former head of the republic Sergei Melikov criticized the ministry for insufficiently combating corruption in the organizations under his control.

The Prime Minister of Dagestan pointed out the problem with queues at hospitals

A video in which the head of the Dagestan government, Magomed Ramazanov, criticized the work of the republic's Ministry of Health was posted on the Instagram* public page dagestan_inform. The footage shows a working meeting.

"The drug supply is very poor. Those who are entitled to it are not receiving it. Insulin delivery delays continue. There are shortages of medications, or they are being replaced with ineffective drugs. <…> An ordinary person ends up in the hospital, and until you give money, they won't even look at you. What is this? People also get [jobs] for money. This continues today. I am receiving information," Ramazanov said.

He also criticized the Dagestan Ministry of Health for queues at hospitals, noting that they are caused by a malfunctioning electronic queue management system.

"People are arriving at four in the morning to line up and get tested. Is this normal? No. Why hasn't this problem been resolved for two years? Why aren't any measures being taken in the first place?" – the head of the republic’s government asked.

In his opinion, some officials are concerned with being comfortable in their offices and do not pay attention to the problems that Dagestan residents face when visiting hospitals.

Dagestan residents called for order to be restored in medical institutions

This post on the Instagram* public page dagestan_inform, which has about 655,000 subscribers, had 2,377 likes and 333 comments as of 8:50 AM Moscow time on June 21.

Some users reported encountering cases of corruption in hospitals. "Is it true that ordinary nurses and paramedics can't get a job until you give them at least 300-500 thousand?" wrote goksha_1965.

"And until you give them money, they won't go to work... This also needs to be brought under control," noted user zalmu_mama.

Other users complained about biased treatment in hospitals and problems with medications. "All these inconveniences are created so that people will have to pay for treatment at private clinics," said hajievc. "They're doing this on purpose to get people to pay for tests," wrote gadzhimurad_2707.

"I came to the hospital with a burn and poured boiling water on myself. They sent me to the pharmacy to buy Levomekol and a bandage, but they said they didn't have it. It's in Kizlyar. Pay attention to our hospitals, especially the city ones. You have to bring your own medications to the hospital; they don't have anything," complained patinarakhmanova.

Another group of commentators called for order to be brought to the republic's Ministry of Health. "These problems are just being discussed, and nothing is being done. It's all talk. Until they start punishing them, there will be no results," emphasized user frukt___05.

"Time will tell what changes his words will bring," noted user atike_777.

"We need to assemble a new team, someone who will work honestly and conscientiously, patriots of the republic, smart, competent specialists. And not all these people who have been sitting in their positions for years and don't even know how to work properly," stated user ib777777.

* Screenshot of a comment on the page https://www.instagram.com/p/DZqDsEUtcBb (the activities of Meta (the owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) are banned in Russia).