Health Minister of Kyrgyzstan Erkin Checheybaev visited the Research Institute of Cardiac Surgery and Organ Transplantation, where he met with parents of children with congenital heart defects, who are awaiting surgery. The press center of the Ministry of Health reported.
The parents raised the acute issue of long waiting times for surgery and insufficient access to vital cardiac surgery care.
According to the minister, about 600 children with congenital heart defects are born in Kyrgyzstan every year, who need surgery in the first weeks of life. However, currently only 20-30 of them undergo surgery. There are already more than 100 children on the waiting list, and the real need for cardiac surgery is significantly higher.
«We understand that pediatric cardiac surgery is one of the most vulnerable areas. The Research Institute of Cardiac Surgery and Organ Transplantation is undergoing major repairs, after which the Cardiac Surgery Department will return to the building with expanded capabilities: the number of beds and intensive care units will increase, and, as a result, the number of operations performed,» Erkin Checheybaev emphasized.
- A separate cardiac surgery center is planned to be built in Jalal-Abad.
- In Bishkek, renovations are being completed at the Institute of Cardiology, where previously only therapeutic treatment was provided. Now, adult patients will be operated on there, which will relieve the burden on the institute.
In the Medical Town project, which is being actively promoted by the government, cardiology will become the central focus, and a building with 300-350 beds is planned to be built.
The minister also explained how the waiting list for surgery is formed. He stressed that emergency patients in critical condition (for example, with oxygen saturation below 30) are operated on first, as every hour counts. Scheduled surgeries are performed daily — on average, two per day.
Erkin Checheybaev touched on the problem of intermediaries offering to send patients abroad. He urged parents to contact state medical institutions, where, in some cases, operations can be performed free of charge.
