Flagship Centers for Emergency Medical Assistance - What Will State-of-the-Art Clinics Look Like?

In Minsk, flagship centers for providing emergency and urgent medical assistance will be built. Currently, the project is at the expert consultation stage with specialized services. It is planned that these facilities will be operational on the basis of three major medical institutions in Minsk: BSMU, the 10th Hospital, and the Minsk Scientific and Practical Center of Surgery, Transplantology, and Hematology.

Innovative equipment, well-thought-out logistics, medical algorithms for each emergency case, and top professionals in their field. The priority for the flagship centers is effective patient care within the first hours after admission.

Yuriy Gorbich, Chairman of the Health Committee of the Minsk City Executive Committee:

“This combines emergency and high-tech care in one location. The overall goal is to provide medical assistance in three points of the city with minimal transportation time. For example, this includes issues related to acute cerebrovascular accidents, commonly known as 'strokes.' It’s a situation where, without leaving the emergency department, it is possible to retrieve a clot from the affected artery.”

The flagship centers plan to implement a concept of three zones — "red," "yellow," and "green." Patients in critical condition, where every minute counts, will be directed via the "red" route, bypassing the registration desk, directly to intensive care. There, they will be stabilized and then transferred to cardiology, neurology, or surgical intensive care, or to a specialized department for further treatment.

Olga Svetlitskaya, Chief Physician of the City Clinical Emergency Hospital of Minsk:

“In the yellow zone, patients with moderate severity who need urgent medical help are delivered. They do not have immediate threats to their lives. In this zone, diagnostics are performed, a diagnosis is made, and a decision is taken on hospitalization or providing medical assistance at the emergency department level, with recommendations for outpatient treatment or referral to a polyclinic. The green zone is typically for people who come to us on their own. These patients also do not have threats to their lives. Their overall condition is considered satisfactory. They need diagnostics and medical assistance, but since their condition is stable, they can wait calmly for doctors to establish a diagnosis.”

Maria Kuznetsova, Head of the Emergency Department of the City Clinical Emergency Hospital of Minsk:

“Within the emergency hospital, a triage system has been operating for two years. On average, we receive from 250 to 300 patients per day. The maximum number of patients in recent weeks was up to 350 or even 380 per day. About half of them (around 100-150 people) arrive by ambulance.”

New buildings will be constructed for the flagship centers. For example, BSMU will expand its medical program. It will admit patients after road accidents, falls from heights, as well as burns, frostbite, and poisoning. The new facilities will increase the capacity of the emergency department while ensuring comfortable conditions for each patient.