The Republican Center for Health Improvement and Sanatorium-Resort Treatment of the Population (hereinafter referred to as the Republican Center), at a republican meeting held in Minsk, summed up the results of work on the improvement and sanatorium-resort treatment of the population for 2021 and defined tasks for 2022.

The director of the Republican Center, Bolbatovsky Gennady Nikolayevich, reported on the activities of the system of sanatorium treatment and rehabilitation of the population in 2021 and the tasks for 2022. In his speech, the director of the Republican Center announced that the most urgent tasks for the medical and health complex of the Republic of Belarus in 2021 were to maintain the material and technical base and human resources of health resorts, improve the quality and ensure the safety of health care services, create the necessary conditions for the recovery growth of the main economic performance of health resorts.

As of January 1, 2022, the medical and health complex of the Republic of Belarus includes 304 facilities, the total capacity of which is 65,000 beds. The total number of employees of year-round sanatorium-resort and health-improving organizations is 16.1 thousand people, including 4.6 thousand medical workers.

The infrastructure and staffing of the system of sanatorium treatment and improvement of the population make it possible to provide medical and health services to 1 million 300 thousand people annually.

More than 84 million rubles were used to strengthen and develop the material and technical base of the medical and recreation complex in 2021, most of which were earned as part of the core activities of health resorts. These funds were used to carry out repairs, purchase equipment and inventory, create conditions for a barrier-free environment for physically weakened people.

Health resorts of the republic are staffed with highly qualified medical personnel. Most doctors of sanatoriums have the first or highest qualification category, which contributes to the high quality, safety and further development of sanatorium care for the population.

Ensuring the proper quality and safety of health resort services is one of the priorities in the work of the system of sanatorium treatment and improvement of the population. On these issues, the Republican Center organized a permanent interdepartmental preventive monitoring of all facilities of the medical and health complex.

Particular attention is paid to the prevention of coronavirus infection. In September last year, the Republican Center, together with the Ministry of Health, developed and approved the next edition of the methodological recommendations and ensures their application in every health resort. One of the most effective measures to prevent infectious diseases is vaccination. In total, 74 percent of health workers were vaccinated, including 84 percent of medical workers.

In general, in 2021, sanatorium-resort and health-improving organizations ensured the proper quality and safety of health-improving services. Due to this, the recovery growth of the system of sanatorium treatment and improvement of the population has been achieved. The health resort services market has almost recovered to the volumes of the pre-epidemic period, and in many respects even surpassed the most successful 2019.

The average occupancy of health resorts met the requirements

guidelines for the prevention of coronavirus infection and amounted to 74 percent, which is 16 percentage points higher than in 2020.

1 million 272 thousand people underwent sanatorium treatment and rehabilitation, which is 59 percent more than in 2020. Revenue from the sale of medical and health services amounted to 674 million rubles, which is 46 percent higher than in 2020 and 1.2 percent higher than in 2019.

Revenue from the sale of additional paid services not included in the cost of the ticket amounted to 130 million rubles, which is one and a half times higher than in 2020 and 12 percent higher than in 2019.

Compared to 2020, the volume of free sale and export of medical and health services has grown significantly.

As part of the free sale, that is, without the use of budget funds, 576 thousand people underwent sanatorium treatment and rehabilitation, which is almost 80 percent more than in 2020. The total revenue from the free sale of services amounted to 476 million rubles, which is 54 percent higher than in 2020 and 3.5 percent higher than in 2019.

The largest share among the people who underwent sanatorium treatment and rehabilitation without the use of budget funding were citizens of the Republic of Belarus. Their number was 437 thousand people, which is almost twice more than in 2020, and a quarter more than in 2019.

Revenue from the free sale of services to citizens of the Republic of Belarus amounted to 330 million rubles, which is one and a half times higher than in 2020, and 35 percent higher than in 2019.

The growth in the volume of medical and health-improving services sold to citizens was achieved thanks to the implementation of a rational pricing policy by health resorts, as well as marketing and promotional activities aimed at the domestic market. To provide additional resilience to the risks of export markets, this practice should be continued and developed.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, we were not able to reach the pre-epidemic export indicators of medical and health services, but we ensured their significant growth compared to 2020.

139 thousand foreign citizens underwent sanatorium treatment and rehabilitation, which is 38 percent more than in 2020. Revenue from the export of these services amounted to 146 million rubles, which is 60 percent higher than in 2020.

In terms of regions, the export growth rates are presented as follows: Mogilev region - 185 percent, Grodno region - 183 percent, Vitebsk region - 176 percent, Minsk region - 173 percent, Brest region - 165 percent, Gomel region - 143 percent, health resorts in Minsk - 116 percent.

The above indicators indicate the restoration of the system of sanatorium treatment and improvement of the population from the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The best results were achieved by the sanatorium and resort organizations of the Vitebsk region, which, according to the results of the Republican Center for assessing the main indicators of the activity of the health resorts of the republic, scored the highest overall score.

For high performance in the work on health improvement and sanatorium treatment of the population in 2021, they were awarded the Certificate of Honor of the Republican Center: among children's sanatoriums - the branch "Children's sanatorium "Sluch" of OJSC "Belagrozdravnitsa"; among children's rehabilitation and health centers - PMC "children's rehabilitation and health center" Zhemchuzhina "; among the sanatoriums for adults - the branch "Sanatorium" Radon "OJSC" Belagrozdravnitsa ".

The stable operation of the health-improving complex is largely ensured by citizens exercising their right to health resort treatment and rehabilitation using budget financing.

The director of the Republican Center noted that in 2021 all social projects and activities of state programs were implemented in full and announced the main tasks that, in cooperation with the owners of health resorts and other interested parties, will have to be solved in 2022.