Moscow: Two Russian doctors have died and one is in the intensive care unit in serious condition. All the three had fallen out of windows in hospitals under mysterious circumstances.
The tragic incidents last week made national headlines here. Media reports said all three have come under pressure from their superiors. The doctors had complained over working conditions amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Medical workers angry
In recent weeks, medical workers all over Russia have decried shortages of protective equipment and questionable infection control procedures. Hospitals have turned into virus hotbeds, with hundreds of doctors and nurses contracting the virus. Many said they have been threatened with dismissal or even prosecution for going public with their grievances.
1st mysterious fall
Dr Alexander Shulepov, an ambulance doctor from the Voronezh region fell out of a window in a hospital early Saturday. He was being treated for COVID-19. He suffered broken ribs and a skull fracture. Shulepov, 37, was admitted to the hospital more than a week before the accident after testing positive for coronavirus.
That day, his colleague Alexander Kosyakin posted a video on social media of himself and Shulepov. Both were complaining about protective equipment shortages.
In the video, Shulepov said he was being forced to finish his ambulance shift despite being diagnosed with COVID-19. Five days later, local health officials shared another video of Shulepov on social media. In that video he retracted his earlier complaints. He said he was just being emotional.
Five days later, Shulepov fell out of a two-story hospital building. The cause of the accident remains unknown.
1st death under mysterious circumstances
Dr Yelena Nepomnyashchaya, another doctor fell out of the window in Siberia. She was the acting head of a hospital in Krasnoyarsk, a city in western Siberia. She fell out of a window of her office on the fifth floor.
Local media reported, citing anonymous sources, that the tragedy took place right after she had a conference call with regional health officials. Nepomnyashchaya died in intensive care Friday.
Just the day before Nepomnyashchaya’s fall, another doctor sustained deadly injuries after falling out of a window in a hospital here. She was identified as Dr Natalya Lebedeva. She ran an ambulance station. Levedeva died immediately after the fall, with health officials insisting it was just a tragic accident.
AP