Volgograd Doctors Allege Unpaid Work on National Project
Staff at the regional clinical hospital, where the governor opened a capital-renovated intensive care and resuscitation unit at the start of the year, stated that they did not receive bonus payments for six months of work on labor-intensive analyses. The regional health department assures that money was paid to doctors and lab technicians in full. Moreover, according to the health committee, the medical institution conducted research as part of a preparatory stage IVF (in vitro fertilization) program. However, the regional mandatory health insurance fund responded that the hospital does not participate in this program.
According to medical workers who took part in the study, its duration was six months, and the main goal was to detect male health issues and possible problems that could affect reproductive function. At the same time, the medics say they were paid only once in December, and the amount due was less than 2,000 rubles (approximately $27 at current rates).
Initially, they said it was some kind of national project and we had to perform this analysis for it. The head of department assured that over 6 million rubles (about $80,000 at current rates) were allocated for this project. All this time no one paid, people worked «for thanks.» After six months, the department head appealed to the chief physician with a request to reward the specialists. 27,000 rubles (around $360 at current rates) were allocated for the department for six months, when more than a thousand analyses were conducted. In 2026, they promised to increase the workload, but told workers not to expect payment,says an interlocutor who directly participated in the study.
At the same time, the device for conducting the analysis alone cost 1,140,000 rubles (approximately $15,200 at current rates), but it very soon broke down and required repair.
In the health committee, the information about non-payments was called fake, and they reported on the hospital«s successful work.
The indicated information has not been confirmed and is fake. All employees of the clinical diagnostic laboratory who participated in the implementation of the preparatory stage IVF program, including necessary laboratory research, were accrued and paid wages on time, including payments for intensity and quality, in accordance with the schedule, completed volume of work, and qualification of workers. No complaints or appeals to the hospital administration were received from laboratory staff,the department reported, adding that
the budget subsidy allocated for the implementation of the program was directed in a targeted manner, including for conducting this analysis, and was used in full, which is confirmed documentarily.
At the same time, the territorial department of the mandatory health insurance fund reported that the regional hospital does not participate in the population screening program aimed at assessing reproductive health.
The program includes reproductive centers, Volgograd Regional Clinical Hospital No. 1 (VOKB No. 1) is not listed among them. If this is some program of the regional health committee, then for explanations about the medical institution«s activities within its implementation, as well as about the budget, one should contact the committee,said fund director Anna Pail.
To clarify which program is referred to in the response of the regional health department and what budget was allocated for its implementation, representing the health committee, senior information department consultant Alena Strelina refused.
Recall that recently ambulance staff complained that they were left without a New Year bonus, which was not paid to paramedics and nurses. Officials from the health committee claimed that all medical service workers received due payments on time.
