Residents Wait Months for Doctor Appointments in Arkhangelsk Oblast
The Russian government has established wait times for medical care. According to RIA Novosti, citing a document, the wait time for appointments with local therapists, pediatricians, and general practitioners should not exceed 24 hours. The time for consultations with specialist doctors is no more than 14 working days. However, residents of Arkhangelsk Oblast regularly report that some cannot get a hospital appointment for months.
«Apparently, I Should Plan My Illness in Advance»
We asked readers of 29.RU if they had to wait more than two weeks for a doctor«s appointment. As expected, many have faced this.
«For an endoscopy – almost a year with a referral from a therapist,» writes a reader of 29.RU.
«I was told directly that an ultrasound would have to wait several months or I should go privately,» shared Sergei.
«On January 28, I was offered an appointment with a therapist for February 9. Apparently, I should plan my illness in advance.»
«From April, we waited for a slot with a pediatric allergist, got it in November; from July, I»m waiting for an appointment with an adult endocrinologist, will get in at the end of January,« writes Olga.
«On December 1, I made an appointment with a cardiologist, still waiting for a call for the appointment,» wrote Grigory on January 28.
«We»ve been waiting almost four months for a ticket to a cardiologist. At the clinic under compulsory health insurance (CHI), there are practically no doctors, but privately, they published a whole list of doctors right there in the clinic.«
«Since November I»ve been waiting, apparently not enough time has passed.«
«From August to mid-January, I couldn»t get to a rheumatologist, wait almost 6 months.«
«You can»t get to a therapist for a month…«
Here are a few more stories from residents of Arkhangelsk Oblast that they posted on social media.
«Since August, a therapist hasn»t been able to schedule an appointment with a cardiologist to install a Holter monitor. Since July, an endocrinologist still can«t schedule a puncture. A vicious circle,» wrote Nadezhda in November.
«I waited exactly two months for a ticket to a neurologist. I thought: [a lot of] people… I»ll have to sit for half a day. I was very surprised when I approached the office, and there was only one woman who thought the same as me. We went in one by one, and I didn«t see anyone else at the office. A mystery…»
«Made an appointment with a neurologist on March 28, only got a ticket for May 5.»
«A consultation with a rheumatologist was scheduled, a referral given, they won»t schedule it at all, they say, appointments are through the «doctor–doctor» system, wait approximately 6 months!«
«Made an appointment with a vascular surgeon in February, still haven»t been called,« wrote a user in October 2025.
«Given a referral for an ultrasound. Put in queue. Told to wait at least half a year. After 7 months, scheduled, had the ultrasound. Everything is bad, need surgery. Urgently hospitalized, removed. Good it was benign, but if not…»
How to Get Help If You Can«t Schedule a Doctor»s Appointment
The Ministry of Health of Arkhangelsk Oblast said that if a patient cannot receive help at a medical organization at their place of residence, the attending physician refers them to other medical organizations. Also, residents can receive telemedicine consultations with specialists from regional multidisciplinary and specialized medical organizations.
Also, patients can make appointments with doctors at state medical organizations by calling 122.
«On the official websites of medical organizations, the possibility of remote interaction with service recipients has been implemented – electronic services (forms for submitting electronic appeals, the »Frequently Asked Questions« section),» added the department.
As noted in the regional Ministry of Health, if a patient«s rights are violated during the provision of medical services, they can file an application with the health insurance organization and the territorial compulsory health insurance fund.
To the question from 29.RU about what sanctions are provided and against whom if wait times for appointments exceed the established ones, the ministry did not respond.
More About Medicine in the Region
From March 1, medical university graduates will be required to work from 1 to 3 years in a state hospital under the guidance of an experienced supervisor. Read how future doctors reacted.
Residents of the Maymaksansky district in Arkhangelsk recorded an appeal to Vladimir Putin. According to townspeople, at polyclinic No. 3, employees quit, the hospital has 2–3 therapists left, due to a shortage of specialists it«s hard to get to a doctor, and no one comes to the house at all. The Ministry of Health of Arkhangelsk Oblast responded, how they plan to solve the problem.
The staff of the Savinskaya district hospital in the Plesetsky district are being reduced and transferred to part-time employment from March 1. Residents of the village are sounding the alarm: according to locals, queues for doctor appointments can last for several weeks. Learned in the Ministry of Health of Arkhangelsk Oblast, why employees are being reduced and how this will affect medical care in the village.
At Vladimir Putin«s press conference on the results of 2025, regions where the issue of access to medical care and shortage of doctors is most acute were identified. Arkhangelsk Oblast made it to this list.
In Arkhangelsk, employees of the former Center for Public Health and Medical Prevention were reduced, which since November of this year has become part of the Medical Information and Analytical Center. Employees told 29.RU that they were offered new vacancies, but in completely different specialties.
