Thousands of Wounded Soldiers Received Medical Assistance from the Ministry During the War: Deputy Minister

Deputy Health Minister Artyom Simbatyan wrote on his Facebook page: "A few facts about the Ministry of Health and the system during 2020.

1. Medical assistance was provided by the Ministry to thousands of soldiers who were wounded during the war (76% of all wounded), in about 40 hospitals that were fully or partially mobilized for rear medical services. Thanks to the heroic work and high professionalism of our doctors, the system's high preparedness, and the effectiveness and operational capability of the evacuation systems we implemented for wounded soldiers (more than 80% of all evacuated wounded were evacuated through systems implemented by the Ministry), it was possible to save thousands of lives, reducing the sanitary losses (mortality among the wounded) to 1.65%. This figure is unprecedented compared to the sanitary losses in the Artsakh war, the first and second Chechen wars, the Syrian war, and any other wars in the past 30 years. I express my gratitude to all of our doctors for the unprecedented quality of medical assistance. I thank again the hundreds of doctors dispatched by the Ministry who performed their duties under enemy missile fire.

2. During the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, around 160,000 citizens were diagnosed with Covid-19. Over the year, approximately 30 hospitals were fully or partially reprofiled to provide medical assistance for the coronavirus, where more than 36,000 patients who needed hospital medical assistance received care. Once again, thanks to the heroic work of our doctors and the rapid re-equipping of the healthcare system, made possible by substantial financial and operational support from the government, thousands of lives were saved, reducing the mortality rate among infected individuals to 1.76% (the global rate is 2.18%).

3. Working in an overloaded regime, the healthcare system continues to provide proper medical assistance to all citizens requiring emergency medical care, perhaps achieving the impossible.

4. Again regarding the quality of medical assistance, amidst the raging pandemic, due to the sectoral policy reforms of the Ministry of Health, it was possible to reduce maternal mortality by more than half compared to 2019. Sadly, I must note that there were 7 maternal deaths in 2020, 5 of which were due to the coronavirus. The Ministry of Health has remained steadfast since the beginning of the year, refusing to capitulate to sentimental criticisms, manipulations, misconceptions, and personalized approaches from non-specialists that have no relation to evidence-based, merit-based professional approaches. Yes, as a result of reviewing policy, several obstetric-gynecological departments that did not meet established standards were closed, and yes, specialized hospital services need to be centralized in order to improve the quality of medical assistance through the number of interventions (experience), staff, and the saturation of medical equipment and supplies.

5. While working in an overloaded regime, being directly involved and leading the organization of the evacuation of the wounded in Stepanakert, Goris, and Vardenis, the employees of the State Health Agency of the Ministry of Health nevertheless did the impossible. For the first time in the 30-year history of the Republic of Armenia, medical centers received contracts from the state for the provision of free and preferential medical assistance services at the beginning of the year of 2021. For comparison, prior to 2018, contracts with medical centers were signed in March, April, or May. In 2020, contracts were signed at a record early date, on January 9."