“Discrimination, insult and beating”. An ambulance staff beaten up again in Tashkent. What measures does the Health Minister take?

On social networks, a cardiologist Jakhongir Khodjiyev published an appeal to the Health Minister after he was beaten up by a patient’s relatives.

“I am Jakhongir Khodjiyev, an ambulance physician at the Ambulance Station No.6 in Tashkent. I was beaten at 00:40 on September 30, my nose was broken and I had a concussion.

On September 29, at 22:51 an emergency call was received, and we arrived at the destination in 12 minutes. We were met by drunk men and they took us to a 28-year-old girl lying on chairs. The girl was experiencing psychomotor agitation. More than 20 people gathered around her, all were yelling and insulting me and my colleagues. I asked them to calm down and not to disturb me while I am assisting the patient. I explained that the girl’s condition was normal. But they continued to insult me and the paramedic. I assisted, the girl fell asleep. After a while she woke up and started screaming again.

We took the patient to the City Clinical Hospital No.7. I called a neurologist at the reception, but the patient’s relatives also insulted the neurologist. The girl was taken to the intensive care unit. There doctors and nurses began to calm her down. But her relatives also entered the unit and continued humiliating and insulting doctors there. When I was walking down the corridor, the girl’s brother suddenly hit me in the head and broke my nose. It started bleeding severely. We had to call the police.

I am currently undergoing treatment at the Clinical Hospital No.7 with the diagnosis “closed nasal fracture, brain concussion and closed traumatic brain injury”.

I have a question to our minister: why nobody cares about us? When there are significant changes are happening in other systems for the benefit of employees, why is it more dangerous to work in the healthcare system?” the doctor concluded.

Kun.uz editorial team contacted the Health Ministry about this issue. The head of the public relations department of the Ministry Furkat Sanayev said that the matter was taken under control and provided information on the case.

“This has become one of the most painful problems of our ministry. Unfortunately, the Ministry of Health does not have the authority to assess, identify and punish the crime. Pay attention to the facts: in the past 1 year and 9 months, there have been more than 100 cases of assaults on emergency and ambulance personnel in the country. 

Why is any attack on personnel of such systems as law enforcement bodies, police department, BCE assessed legally in no time? The guilty is found, and even punished with imprisonment. But why is such promptness forgotten when it comes to the healthcare system?

We have repeatedly stated that it is high time to make concrete changes to the legislation. We have made our own proposals. Today, this issue is more actual than ever,” the ministerial representative said.

Later in the evening on October 2, it was reported that the Health Minister Alisher Shodmonov visited Jakhongir Khodjiyev, talked to him and asked the doctors looking after him to create necessary conditions for his full recovery.

Shodmonov, on the same day, sent an appeal to the Prosecutor General’s Office asking to take legal measures against those who attack doctors, and to protect the rights of healthcare personnel.