Two of these health workers have died and one remains hospitalized.
All three incidents, which were investigated by Russian police authorities, sparked intense discussion in the Russian press and social media.
Alexander Shulepov, an ambulance doctor in Voronezh, a city about 320 miles south of Moscow, is in serious condition after falling from a hospital window on Saturday. Local state television, citing regional health officials, said it fell from the second floor window of Novousmanskaya hospital, where it worked and received treatment after testing positive for the coronavirus test.
Shulepov was hospitalized for coronavirus on April 22, the same day he and his colleague Alexander Kosyakin posted an online video saying that Shulepov had been forced to continue working after testing positive for the coronavirus test.
Kosyakin had also previously criticized the hospital administration for lack of protective devices on his social media and had been questioned by the police for allegedly spreading false news.
Kosyakin confirmed these details to CNN in an interview.
“[Shulepov] it’s an intensive care unit, as far as i know in severe conditions, the last time i talked to him was on april 30, we registered with each other, “Kosyakin told CNN.” He was feeling well, he was preparing to be discharged from the hospital … and suddenly it happened, it is not clear why and why, so many questions that I don’t even have the answer. “
Police did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.
Novousmanskaya hospital said in a statement that Shulepov was removed from a shift as soon as he informed the hospital administration of his positive diagnosis and was offered hospitalization in the infectious disease ward.
Three days later, Shulepov retracted his previous statements, saying that in his video with Kosyakin he was “overwhelmed with emotions”. The second video recorded by Shulepov featured Igor Potanin, the chief physician of Novousmanskaya hospital, who claimed that his medical staff had enough protective devices.
“I talked about it with the employees of the department: I wouldn’t let anyone go to the outpatient or hospital patients if we don’t have enough means of protection, I told them I would go there, but I wouldn’t send anyone,” said Potanin.
Shulepov was the third health worker in Russia to fall out of a window in the past two weeks.
On May 1, Elena Nepomnyashchaya, the interim chief physician of a hospital in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, died after spending a week in intensive care, the regional department of the Ministry of Health said in a statement.
Local TV station TVK Krasnoyarsk reported at the time that Nepomnyashchaya would have fallen from a window during a meeting with regional health officials, during which they discussed transforming the clinic into a coronavirus facility.
Nepomnyashchaya was reportedly opposed to these changes due to the lack of protective equipment in the hospital. The regional health department of the Ministry of Health denied the allegations in a statement, adding that the hospital is “in reserve” for coronavirus patients and that its staff has been trained and equipped. The hospital did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment.
On April 24, Natalya Lebedeva, head of the emergency medical service in Star City, the main training base for Russian cosmonauts, died in hospital after a fall.
The hospital within the Federal Biomedical Agency, which claims to have treated her for suspected coronavirus, has released a statement that “a tragic accident has occurred” without elaborating on it. The hospital did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.
In the statement, the hospital said, “She was a true professional in her field, saving lives every day!”
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