Doctors in Russia are facing immense pressure due to the Coronavirus pandemic, and now mysterious incidents of doctors falling from windows of hospitals have started to emerge. In the last week, three doctors fell from hospital windows in Russia, and two of them have died. As per reports, they committed suicide after they came under pressure to overwork during the times of Coronavirus pandemic.
Reportedly, Similar incidences happened in the last two weeks that are being investigated by the police. But they underscore the strains the health workers are facing due to pandemic.
As per reports, two of the doctors had protested against working conditions and a third was being blamed after her colleagues fell ill due to coronavirus.
Doctors have been decrying the abysmal lack of protective equipment and questioning the infection control procedures in the hospitals. Many medicos have even alleged that they have been threatened with dismissal or even prosecution if they will be going public with their grievances. Hundreds of health workers have also been infected due to coronavirus.
Dr. Alexander Shulepov, who works with an ambulance crew in the Voronezh Region, 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of Moscow, fell from a second-floor window May 2 at a hospital where he was being treated for Wuhan coronavirus which resulted in breaking several ribs and fracturing his skull.
His colleague Alexander Kosyakin posted a video on social media where he and Shulepov were seen complaining about shortages of protective gear. In the video, 37-year old Shulepov alleged that he was being forced to finish his shift despite being diagnosed with Coronavirus.
But later some health officials posted another video of Shulepov in which he was seen retracting from his statement saying that he got emotional. Kosyakin was accused of spreading fake news about a shortage of protective equipment and investigation is underway.
However, it is unclear the caused by Shulepov’s fall from the building. Some local media reports said that he slipped while trying to climb from his window for a smoke outside. While others saying that it happened due to pressure for airing his complaints in public.
Near Moscow, the head of the ambulance service in the closed-off town of Star City, Natalia Lebedeva died on April 24 after falling from a hospital window. She was also being treated for the virus. Her colleagues allege that she might have committed suicide after being accused of spreading the disease.
Another senior female doctor, Elena Nepomnyashchaya, reportedly fell from a hospital window in the Siberian region of Krasnoyarsk on April 26. Nepomnyashchaya had spoken out against the regional government’s plan to treat COVID-19 patients at her hospital, citing a lack of protective equipment and proper training. She fell out of a window during a meeting with regional health officials, during which they discussed turning the clinic into a coronavirus facility.
All three incidents are being investigated by Russian law enforcement authorities. The incidents have sparked intense discussion on Russian media and social media over the management of Coronavirus in the country.
As on Thursday, Russia recorded 177,160 Coronavirus cases, and 1,625 deaths, on Thursday alone more than 11000 cases were reported.
