«Radon» and «Rosinka» named best sanatoriums in 2012
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, only Belarus has managed to maintain such a well-kept multibranch net of sanatorium-and-spa institutions. And it is unique in its social nature, too. Today every Belarusian citizen can restore his health in one of those if he wishes to. Nikolai Mazur, director of the National Center for Health Improvement and Sanatorium Treatment told «R» about progress in 2012 and prospects for 2013.
— Nikolai Vladimirovich, first and foremost l’d like to know what institutions were named the winners in 2012...
— It’s always pleasant to talk about the best. Sanatorium «Radon» has become the winner among health resorts for adults. «Rosinka» is the winner among the children`s sanatoriums. «Nadeshda-XXI Century» is the number one among the children rehabilitation centers. «Zarniza» (branch of sanatorium «Rassvet») is the best child-and-parent resort. Sanatoriums «Belarus» in Jurmala and Yalta lead among our abroad centres.
— How did the Belarusian health resorts fare in 2012?
— The network of spa and health centers of the republic today is represented by 369 organizations. They number 75.2 thousand places on the whole. This is impressive for such a small country like ours. Last year, two new health centers «Zagorye» and «Primorskiy» appeared.
Every year the number of people who improve their health increases. 1346,8 thousand visited our institutions in 2012 compared to 1029,0 thousand in 2006.
— People say that Belarusian health system is unique. How would you characterize state policy in this area at this stage?
— There are three main trends that determine our work. The first is a strict observance of the Law «On state social benefits, rights and guarantees for certain categories of citizens». The second is implementation of the state program to overcome the effects of the Chernobyl disaster in 2011-2015 and for the period up to 2020. The third is development of exports of sanatorium-and-spa services.
— Today a great attention is paid to upgrade the facilities and quality of service.
— This is true. Last year 425.3 billion rubles were spent on the upgrade. It’s two times as much as in 2011.
— Attracting foreigners to our resorts, as you know, is a big problem. Have you any success?
— Last year, our sales of services to foreign citizens has increased by 2.3 times. 230,000 of them used our resorts. This year, we have set an ambitious target of increasing exports of services by 15%.
— What are the main tasks for the coming year?
— Unfortunately, we don’t have providers of spa treatment services for children with disabilities. In spite of the abundance of children`s and family health centers, only some of them offer services for such children. I believe this must be changed. We are also going to tighten the requirements for quality and balance of food in our resorts.
