The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a major challenge to the healthcare system around the world. Kazakhstan is no exception. However, one of the main discoveries of 2020 was that big business showed a willingness to support the country in difficult times. A striking example of this is Kazakhmys corporation. This year, Kazakhmys has taken major initiatives through providing needed medical equipment and medicines to medical institutions in the regions of its presence. Thus, the company purchased and installed 2 more high-tech computed tomographs in the cities of Satpayev and Zhezkazgan.  In an interview with NUR.KZ, the director of Zhezkazgan Medical Center LLP, candidate of medical sciences, doctor of the highest category in health care- Vladimir Motorykin told about what this means for the region.   - How do you remember the peak of the pandemic? - I would describe that period as a real emergency. It was an increasing stream of patients of varying severity day by day; each patient needs the right approach, the right diagnosis and treatment. And of course, doctors faced a shortage of beds and there is a lack of qualified doctors. But we still survived and gained some experience. - What role does the technical equipment of medical institutions play in the fight against viruses such as COVID-19? - The doctor who diagnosticates correctly is the one who gives the right treatment. A correct diagnosis is the key to the right path. Therefore, the technical equipment in this case is very important. Moreover, with COVID-19, very expensive diagnostic methods are required, since our routine studies cannot give the full picture. A detailed high-tech research is needed, in particular, PCR diagnostics and computed tomography. Resuscitation measures also require high technical equipment. Along with this, the qualifications of medical workers are equally important, because with such a massive disease, medical activity is collegial. - Large business has taken a major role in the fight against COVID-19. How important was this support to the health system?  - When we faced a problem, and the overload of medical institutions began - there were not enough beds, equipment, personnel, we were really supported from all sides. In the Karaganda region, the Kazakhmys corporation rendered tremendous support to the health care system, whose assistance and participation was felt by every hospital in the region. The company implements a large-scale, ambitious program to support medical institutions and medical workers. The work is carried out in three directions. The first is the improvement of technical equipment, the supply of medical equipment. At the expense of Kazakhmys, 1,200 oxygen concentrators were purchased, which were distributed to all medical institutions of the Karaganda region. I am sure that there is not a single hospital in the region where there are no oxygen concentrators supplied by the company. The corporation also purchased ventilators and vibroacoustic devices, and in the cities of Balkhash, Zhezkazgan and Satpayev, on the basis of central hospitals, centralized oxygen stations for supplying oxygen were created. The second is drug provision, since during the outbreak, the issue of drug shortages arose, and with COVID-19, expensive medicines are needed. As a sponsor aid, Kazakhmys has created a strategic stock of drugs in case of a repeated outbreak of coronavirus, for further distribution to medical institutions in the cities of Balkhash, Zhezkazgan, Satpayev. For us, this is a real help, which gives us confidence that we will cope with our task at the right time. And the third is the support of medical personnel and patients. - As far as I know, the corporation joined in the fight against COVID-19 from the very beginning and the first project of Kazakhmys in this direction was the opening of a PCR laboratory on the basis of your medical center in Zhezkazgan. What did this mean for the region at that moment? - Yes, first of all, a PCR laboratory was opened for diagnosing coronavirus, which began to function as soon as possible. The equipment for it was purchased from the world leader in this area - a South Korean company, whose specialists specially came to Kazakhstan and held master classes for our specialists. The laboratory is primarily concerned with identifying the virus itself and today it is coping with the flow of patients from all over Zhezkazgan and Satpayev. It is necessary to mention the correct sequence of actions of the corporation's management, which began with the important thing - creating conditions for the diagnosis of the disease. I would like to emphasize once again that the whole further path depends on this. - Recently Kazakhmys company purchased a new CT machine for your medical center. Tell us what is its uniqueness and advantage? - Yes, with the funds of the company, 2 computed tomographs of Siemens were purchased to strengthen the material and technical base of medical institutions and improve the quality of service. One of them is installed in our Medical Center, the second - in the central hospital of Satpayev. They were developed individually according to the technical specifications of our doctors and manufactured at factories in Germany. The apparatus installed in Zhezkazgan has 128 slices. This is the first such model that has been imported into Kazakhstan and has no analogues in the country. We have experience with CT of the same company since 2006, but the new device is fundamentally different in innovative diagnostic methods, primarily in that it contains intelligent computer programs and software. We see how artificial intelligence works, when a computer helps and prompts a doctor or a technician conducting a research how to act correctly in a given situation. Having worked with the new apparatus, experts note that this is a technique of a different level; it feels like it is akin to a flight into space. This equipment is a big progress. The device in Satpayev has 32 sectors. - To what extent did the Medical Center need this equipment? How relevant is it during a pandemic? - This device is relevant at any time. Today, this is the pinnacle of computed tomography, which is relevant not only during a pandemic, because people are sick not only with coronavirus. However, with COVID-19, this is the most modern type of diagnosis. If PCR is the detection of a virus, then CT is already a diagnosis of complications and organ damage caused by a virus in the body. - What can you say about the availability of qualified personnel, do you have enough specialists who can read and decipher CT studies? - A modern hospital can be compared to a superliner, no doubt, it must be fully equipped, equipped, computerized, but in order for the flight to be comfortable and safe, a professional team is needed. I agree that, having such equipment, we must have professionals who could work with it. The first CT scan was delivered in our Medical Center 14 years ago, and then the corporation invited a doctor from Germany with 35 years of experience to work for us. During this time, a galaxy of computed tomography doctors has grown up in our country. I would like to mention the head of the Department of Radiation Diagnostics Viktor Glushko. In 2014-2015, he completed an internship in Germany at the CT department, he is a person with great experience and potential. In total, the Medical Center employs 5 computed tomography doctors. But here it is not only medical support that is important, it is important to have qualified specialists, technicians who conduct research. Together with Viktor Glushko, ArdakMnishev, our leading technician with 12 years of experience in this field, also studied in Germany. By the way, there is an important role of telemedicine and communications between physicians.  For example, the second CT machine was delivered to the central hospital of Satpayev, but our specialists will work with it. This is possible thanks to digital technologies and the fact that the tomographs are in a single network. For 10 years we have been maintaining communication between the medical center of Zhezkazgan and the University Hospital Freiburg in Germany. So, you can conduct any CT scan with us and send it to colleagues in Freisburg in order to get the opinion of German professors within 48 hours. - How do you plan to use this equipment in your work? For what indications can a patient be examined using this apparatus? - I must say that CT is, first of all, an X-ray examination, as a result of which patients receive a certain dose of radiation. However, with our new apparatus, this risk is reduced hundreds of times. But a CT scan isn't just about diagnosing coronavirus. The machine allows you to perform CT scans of the whole body - from the crown to the heels. The new model of the device contains a lot of MRI elements, it can be used to examine the head, gastrointestinal tract, heart, lungs, and fractures. Modern CT is also a study of blood vessels, endovascular study, study of coronary heart disease. The device allows you to assess the correctness and quality of stent placement. It will also be used for screening purposes, to examine patients for cancer in the early stages. The same artificial intelligence can prompt specialists to pay attention to a particular area when the tumor does not even reach a millimeter in size. The machine sees what the human eye cannot see. Another important area where a new generation of computed tomography will be used is punctures, biopsies and other procedures. - Is the CT examination service paid? Who can get it for free? - For medical reasons, CT examination can be obtained by any resident of the region if there is a referral from the clinic to which he is attached. The doctor gives a referral through a comprehensive medical information system to our Medical Center or the central hospital of Satpayev, the patient makes an appointment and receives the service free of charge within the framework of the compulsory health insurance. If there is no referral, but the person still wants to be examined, then he can apply for a fee. It also happens that the employer pays for the examination of employees. For example, during the outbreak of the coronavirus, Kazakhmys Corporation fully assumed these costs. - Will the employees of Kazakhmys be able to count on a free examination using this CT scan? - Yes, they can, for medical reasons within the framework of separate programs of "Kazakhmys" for the improvement of employees, in accordance with which the employer pays for this kind of medical services. In general, today, expensive medical services have also become more accessible to people through participation in the health insurance system. - What advice would you give to Kazakhstanis before the second wave of coronavirus, which has been foreshadowed for several months now? - Be careful, take care of yourself, analyze the experience that you have gained this year. Follow simple rules such as distancing, wearing masks, strengthening your health. Let me remind you that COVID is looking for weak points, so people who have other diseases are at risk. Source: NUR.KZ