English

Government decides against allowing private clinics to issue sick notes

The Council of Ministers has backed the health ministry's stance that allowing private health institutions to issue certificates entitling people to sick leave would be a "premature decision," according to a report drawn up ahead of a meeting of the Council of Ministers' Presidium.

It is business associations that have urged the government to allow private clinics to issue sick notes.

In particular, Uladzimir Kayava, a top shareholder of private clinic Ecomedservice and a member of the Belarusian Union of Entrepreneurs, said earlier this year that "patients should be issued with a sick note where they receive medical care."

"Many patients want and have an opportunity to stop going to state outpatient hospitals and receive medical care in privately owned establishments," he said. "But they still have to visit a state establishment to receive a sick note."

Mr. Kayava argued that allowing private clinics to issue sick notes would reduce the workload of state establishments, which often struggle to cope with the flow of patients amid shortages of staff. //BelaPAN