November 7, Sharkovshchina /Olga Bogacheva - BELTA/. Staff turnover in healthcare facilities of the Vitebsk region has decreased by almost 2 times over the past three years. This was announced today by the Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, Alexander Kosinets, at the opening ceremony of the Sharkovshchina Central District Hospital, BELTA correspondent reports. "A tremendous amount of work is being done to retain staff, and this issue is receiving increased attention in the region's healthcare system. Thanks to this approach, we have managed to reduce staff turnover in healthcare facilities by almost half over the past three years – from 9.26% to 5.58%. At the same time, the retention of young specialists in their first jobs after the mandatory period of service has increased from 87.9% in 2009 to 92.7% in 2011," said Alexander Kosinets. Overall, over the past five years, the provision of doctors in the region has increased from 40.5 to 44.3 per 10,000 population, and the number of doctors certified for qualification categories has significantly increased. Currently, a total of 5.4 thousand doctors and 14.4 thousand mid-level healthcare professionals work in the Vitebsk region. This year, 259 graduates of medical universities have been assigned to the region, which is 19.4% more than in 2011. The staffing level with doctors has increased to 97.58%. In rural areas, this figure is 96.35%. In order to retain medical staff, in 2012, 33 doctors (23 of whom were young specialists) and 10 mid-level healthcare professionals were allocated service apartments in the region. Dormitory accommodation was provided to 121 doctors and 161 mid-level healthcare professionals. -0-

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