"So we're left without a doctor": Sverdlovsk region residents protest clinic closure
Residents of Kushva have been fighting for a medical outpost on the city«s outskirts since 2018.
Residents of the Vostok neighborhood in the city of Kushva, Sverdlovsk region, have been left without medical care close to home: the General Practice Unit (GPU) was closed here on January 19. Now they have to travel over two kilometers to Clinic No. 5. The main obstacle is not the distance, but a pedestrian bridge over the railway tracks, which is extremely difficult for the elderly and parents with strollers to cross.
Townspeople worry that elderly residents and mothers with strollers will struggle to cross the pedestrian bridge over the railway tracks.
«So we»re left without a doctor. We«re being transferred to a clinic several kilometers from our neighborhood, and we also have to cross the railway bridge. The elderly can»t manage to climb it, and not every mother can cross it alone, getting a stroller or sled down,« said an outraged resident of Vostok, Angela.
The General Practice Unit in the Vostok neighborhood was closed several times over its 19-year operation. Problems began in 2018.
Besides the difficult journey to Clinic No. 5, residents of Kushva complain about long queues to see doctors. Angela said that waits can take four to five hours, and because the trip is so hard, some prefer to self-medicate.
In 2023, a solution was found for Vostok residents: medical staff visited the unit several times a week on a set schedule.
According to Yevgeny Saprykin, a deputy of the Kushva Municipal District, 1,700 people live in their neighborhood, 1,400 of whom are adults and 300 are children. Besides Vostok residents, people from the Akulovka neighborhood also used the General Practice Unit for care.
In December 2020, local residents recorded an appeal to the Russian president asking for their General Practice Unit to be returned.
The General Practice Unit was located at 11 Parkhomenko Street, roughly in the middle of the neighborhood. Now residents will receive care at 86b Stantsionnaya Street. The direct distance from the GPU to Clinic No. 5 is 1.55 km, and from the outer houses of the neighborhood it«s about 2.5 km. The distance itself isn»t the worst part, but the high pedestrian bridge over the railway tracks must also be considered.
The medical unit saw adults and children with complaints and took tests from neighborhood residents. A day hospital was organized there.
«Everyone was so happy when the GPU opened here 19 years ago. Our own well, a treatment room, a ward for the day hospital. And now, it turns out, everything is being taken away in one day,» the resident complained.
The unit has been targeted for closure since 2018
The situation with the closure of the GPU in Vostok is not new. As deputy Yevgeny Saprykin explained, attempts to liquidate the unit have been made since 2018. At that time, local residents actively opposed: they appealed to the prosecutor«s office, the Ministry of Health, held meetings—and it seemed the problem was solved. Over eight years, the unit was closed several times when there was no one to work, and after residents» appeals, it reopened when staff were found.
The staffing issue was not solved over the years, but the authorities came up with a solution that suited the neighborhood«s residents. An adult doctor, a pediatrician, and a nurse came to the unit on a pre-agreed schedule—several times a week at specific hours.
But on January 19, 2026, the unit was closed anyway. The deputy said that such an order allegedly came to the chief physician because only 20 people are attached to the GPU, and maintaining it is not cost-effective. Yevgeny Saprykin is sure this is incorrect data, as hundreds of residents regularly sought care there.
What the hospital says
The Central District Hospital of Kushva, to which the General Practice Unit in the Vostok neighborhood belonged, stated the reasons for the closure.
«The termination of the GPU»s activities at 11 Parkhomenko St. was a forced measure: the premises do not meet the requirements of sanitary rules 2.1.3678-20. The building lacks centralized hot water supply, sewage, and a supply and exhaust ventilation system. The use of technical water from a well and regular freezing of the cesspool make it impossible to provide safe medical services,« the hospital told E1.RU.
The deputy considers this reason formal, as the unit worked for many years with the same resources, and everything was fine.
«There»s good capital repair work there. Hot water from a boiler, electric heating, sewage through a septic tank, just like in the whole settlement. This isn«t a city where everything is centralized!» objected Yevgeny Saprykin.
The Kushva District Hospital reported that the distance from the Vostok neighborhood to the clinic is 1.359 km, which fully complies with the established principle of walking accessibility (no more than 60 minutes).
«Clinic No. 5 is a new facility that fully meets modern sanitary rules and norms. The building was constructed taking into account serving the population of the Vostok neighborhood. The clinic»s structure includes two therapeutic sections and one pediatric section to serve this population. Transferring service to this building guarantees the preservation and improvement of the quality of primary healthcare, as well as its accessibility under proper conditions,« the hospital responded to E1.RU.
The hospital«s press service also added that for patients» convenience, the working hours of doctors at Clinic No. 5 have been arranged considering existing routes and the public transport schedule connecting the Vostok neighborhood with the clinic«s location.
What«s next?
Local residents and the deputy plan to send an official appeal to the Sverdlovsk Region Ministry of Health demanding either to restore the GPU«s operation or at least organize a paramedic-midwife station (FAP) with appointments twice a week.
«At least leave a FAP—for adults on Tuesdays and Thursdays, for children—even if just for an hour, plus blood draws and procedures. That would be enough,» says Yevgeny Saprykin.
In October of last year, the regional Ministry of Health announced the closure of a maternity hospital on Dagestanskaya Street in Yekaterinburg. This came like a bombshell for city residents and staff of Maternity Hospital No. 2. Everyone asked to keep the maternity hospital open, and when they realized it was impossible, the staff began talking about compensation for dismissal.
We also published a sad analysis of optimization in healthcare, a trend currently observed across the country.
