5000 children - this is how many cases of oncology are diagnosed by doctors in Russia every year. And every time the diagnosis sounds like a verdict, because many people know that state funding for this kind of disease is akin to a myth. That is, it seems to be there, but it is not. And more and more often the question is asked: why is the state so bad and in small quantities allocates money for the treatment of children with cancer.
The state explains the weak financing of cancer centers by the lack of money in the budget. It sounds rather strange for a country that extracts oil and gas in large enough quantities and generously sells them abroad. However, the fact remains that funding for the treatment of children with oncology is going very badly. At the same time, they do not stop getting cancer.
Parents whose children have been diagnosed with oncology are forced to apply to various foundations and charitable organizations in order not to waste precious time.
Why does the state poorly fund the treatment of pediatric oncology?
Formally, it would seem, the state does not refuse to treat sick children. After all, the right to do so is spelled out in the Constitution. However, in fact, most of the children are treated for money. And this is due to various reasons.
So, for example, treatment for oncology is carried out according to quotas, which are very simple to obtain in words and on paper, but in fact it is very, very difficult. Quotas are few, there is not enough for everyone at once, you have to stand in queues to receive them and collect a huge number of documents. And during this time, the child very quickly fades away, and the treatment that he can receive will already be completely useless for him.
The number of quotas is determined in advance, based on approximate statistics for the past year. However, this formula does not work, because every year the number of cancer patients increases significantly.
In addition, even if you are lucky enough to get a quota, the question of money is not settled, because it is time to purchase medicines. There is an item of expenses that the state has never paid for - this is the purchase of medicines that are not registered or registered only in 2011. These drugs can be very good and productive and fight cancer, but they don’t give money. At the same time, they are far from a penny.
The state does not pay for the search procedure for unrelated donors. All this is done by doctors or foundations themselves, but the parents of a sick baby have to pay for such a service. Preparations for treatment are also considered unpaid services. For example, radiation therapy is free, but preparation for it, which includes pinpointing the exact location of the tumor and much more, is not.
When it comes to the procurement of approved drugs, bureaucratic delays appear here as well. So, for example, hospitals can purchase medicines only on the basis of tenders, which, as you know, last for a long time, then the procedure for concluding a contract follows, and only then proceed to deliveries. Many patients simply cannot wait for the end of all these processes.
What to do
If there is no other way to help the child, like free treatment funded by the state, first of all, you need to tune in to the fight. It will be long and rather difficult, because it is quite problematic to fight against the bureaucratic apparatus.
You should not fight alone, you need to connect to the maximum of familiar lawyers, doctors, pharmacists, etc. Alternatively, find friends in charitable foundations. A qualified and professional view of the problem will help solve it faster. Moreover, narrow specialists always know loopholes that make it possible to make the bureaucratic machine work faster.
