You can often hear that medicine in the USSR was the best in the world. Is it really? The statistics is inexorable: now only 44% of Russians, that is, less than half, consider it necessary to consult doctors for any ailment, the rest by all means avoid people in white coats. Two-thirds of the population are categorically dissatisfied with the quality of medical services, complaining about the carelessness, rudeness and incompetence of doctors and nurses. And how was it in the USSR? Let us compare Soviet and modern medicine, and then briefly touch on the topic of achievements and outstanding doctors of the USSR.
Free medicine in the USSR
Medical care during the Soviet Union was free. Soviet citizens did not need any medical policies. An adult could receive qualified medical care in any locality of the USSR upon presentation of a passport, and a birth certificate was enough for children. Paid polyclinics, of course, were in the Union, but, firstly, their number was negligible, and secondly, highly qualified and experienced doctors worked there, many with academic degrees.
The current state of medicine
Today there is the appearance of an alternative. You can contact the district clinic at the place of residence or go to a paid one. In any case, a doctor’s coupon (even if we are talking about a regular therapist) should be taken in one to two weeks, and the lines for specialized specialists are stretched for six months or more. Some categories of the population can undergo certain procedures for free, but you need to register for them one or two years in advance.
Brilliant Doctors Education
Soviet doctors received an excellent education. In 1922, in the young state, 16 new medical faculties were opened in various universities, then the faculty was updated, and the training of medical personnel was expanded. A serious reform, which increased the duration of education at a medical university to seven years, occurred in the late 60s. The same reform introduced the teaching of new subjects, a number of clinical disciplines were shifted to junior courses, and practical training of students was strengthened.
What now?
Today, almost everyone can accept patients, make diagnoses and prescribe medications: the one who really studied, and the one who just bought a diploma from the corresponding higher educational institution. Even those who have no education can become doctors. For examples, you do not need to go far. Gennady Malakhov, who graduated from vocational school with a degree in Electrical Locksmith and the Institute of Physical Culture, successfully broadcast his health program on central television for several years. He published books on alternative medicine, which half of Russia read. But in the USSR, a similar program about a healthy lifestyle was conducted by Yulia Belyanchikova, Honored Doctor of the RSFSR. The woman graduated from the Sechenov Medical Institute with a degree in General Medicine and worked for several years at the Central Institute of Blood Transfusion.
Firm salary of medical personnel
Soviet doctors received a solid salary, not a salary, which depended on the number of patients admitted. This made it possible to pay attention to each person who applied, to afford a leisurely and thorough examination, the result of which was a more accurate diagnosis and proper treatment. Today (even despite the latest diagnostic equipment) the number of misdiagnosed diagnoses and inadequately prescribed treatment is growing, and in paid clinics patient analyzes are often confused.
Preventive focus
The entire health care system in the USSR was aimed at the prevention of severe chronic diseases, vaccination and the elimination of the social basis of diseases, and priority was given to childhood and motherhood. The preventive orientation of Soviet medicine made it possible to prevent many dangerous diseases and to identify pathologies at the initial stages. The network of healthcare institutions included not only polyclinics, but also sanatoriums, as well as various kinds of research institutes.
Doctors went to workplaces, visited kindergartens and schools for preventive examinations and vaccinations. Vaccination covered everyone without exception. When applying for a job, to school, kindergarten, school or university, when visiting a clinic on issues that are not directly related to vaccinations, they required an appropriate certificate. Currently, anyone can refuse vaccination, most often young mothers do it, fearing the harm of vaccines to the baby’s health.
Prevention in Russia
In modern Russia, attention is still paid to prevention: general medical examination, routine and seasonal vaccinations are being carried out, and new vaccines are appearing. How realistic it is to get an appointment with specialists as part of this same medical examination is another question. There were also diseases that did not exist before: AIDS, swine and bird flu, Ebola and others. The most progressive scientists claim that these diseases were artificially eliminated, and AIDS does not exist at all, but this does not make it easier for everyone. People continue to die from "artificial" diagnoses.
From the history of Soviet medicine
Medicine in the USSR did not appear at once - it is the result of hard work. The healthcare system created by Nikolai Semashko is known throughout the world. Highly appreciated the achievements of Soviet medicine Henry Ernst Siegerist - historian, professor of medicine, who has twice visited the USSR. The system proposed by Nikolai Semashko was based on several ideas:
- unity of treatment and prevention of diseases;
- priority for motherhood and childhood;
- equal access to medicine for all citizens of the USSR;
- centralization of health care, uniform principles of organization;
- elimination of the basics of diseases (both medical and social);
- actively involving the general public in health care.
Healthcare System
As a result, a system of medical facilities appeared, which ensured the accessibility of health care: a feldsher-midwife station, or FAP - a district hospital - a district clinic - a regional hospital - specialized research institutes. Special departmental institutions for miners, railway workers, military personnel and so on were preserved. Citizens were attached to the polyclinic at the place of residence, and, if necessary, could be sent for treatment higher in the steps of the health care system.
Maternal and Child Health
Children's medicine in the USSR repeated the system for adults. To protect mothers and children, the number of antenatal clinics was increased from 2.2 thousand in 1928 to 8.6 thousand in 1940. The best medicines were allocated to young mothers, and training in obstetrics and pediatrics was considered one of the most promising areas. Thus, the population in the first 20 years of the existence of the young state increased from 137 million in 1920 to 195 million in 1941.
Prevention by Nikolay Semashko
Nikolai Semashko paid considerable attention to the prevention of diseases and the elimination of the provoking factors of their occurrence (both medical and social). The enterprises organized medical rooms that were engaged in the prevention and detection of occupational diseases. We especially monitored pathologies such as tuberculosis, sexually transmitted diseases, and alcoholism. An important preventive measure was vaccination, which took on a nationwide character.
Rest homes, resorts and sanatoriums, the treatment of which was part of the general therapeutic process, were naturally added to the system of medicine of the USSR. Patients were sent for spa treatment for free, sometimes it was required to pay only a small part of the cost of the permit.
Key Achievements
Soviet scientists made a significant contribution to the development of medicine. For example, the genius of the scientist Vladimir Demikhov stood at the origins of organ transplantation. As a 3rd year student (1937), he designed and introduced an artificial heart to the dog. The whole world knows the Soviet ophthalmologist Svyatoslav Fedorov. In collaboration with Valery Zakharov, he created one of the best artificial lenses in the world, which was called the “Fedorov-Zakharov lens”. Svyatoslav Fedorov in 1973 for the first time carried out an operation to treat glaucoma in the initial stages.
The collective achievement of domestic scientists is the creation of space medicine. The first work in this direction was conducted under the leadership of Vladimir Streltsov. His efforts managed to create a life support system for the astronauts. At the initiative of designer Sergei Korolev and Minister of Defense of the USSR Alexander Vasilevsky, the Scientific Research Institute of Aviation Medicine appeared. The first cosmonaut in the world was Boris Egorov, who in 1964 flew on the Voskhod-1 ship.
The life story of Nikolai Amosov - a cardiologist - became known after he did his first heart surgery. Books on a healthy lifestyle of authorship of this outstanding person were read out by tens of thousands of Soviet citizens. During the war, he developed innovative methods of treatment for injuries, wrote eight articles on field surgery, after which he developed new approaches to lung resection. Since 1955, Nikolai Amosov began to help children with severe heart pathologies, and in 1960 he performed the first successful operation using a cardiopulmonary bypass.
The best medicine in the world: rebuttal
Was the level of medicine in the USSR the best in the world? There are many confirmations for this, but there are also refutations. It is customary to praise medicine in the USSR, but there were also flaws. Independent studies describe in detail the deplorable state in which domestic health care was located before the collapse of the Soviet Union. It was not so easy to enter a medical institute, relying only on knowledge, and a medical career was often provided by connections. Most doctors did not know the current treatment methods.
Until the eighties, polyclinics used glass syringes and reusable needles. Most of the drugs had to be bought abroad, since domestic pharmaceuticals were poorly developed. A large number of Soviet doctors did not turn into quality, and the hospitals (as now) were crowded. You can list for a long time, but does it make sense?