Non-Public Document Reveals Number Of Medics Needed In Belarus

Lukashists are hiding this figure by all means.

The Ministry of Health continues to consider the shortage of medics a ‘pain point’. In the internal report for 2024, which ‘Zerkalo’ managed to obtain, the ministry names the real number of vacancies and brags about how it has learnt to manipulate the figures. It also outlines ways to solve the problem, including by introducing new restrictions. Let's tell you.

Current Situation with Medics

According to the results of 2024, there are a total of 47,717 specialist doctors in Belarus (it's 0.46% more than a year earlier), and 111,153 middle medical workers (-0.94% for the year). Of the total number of medical workers, 11,628 (7.3%) are young specialists.

The Ministry did not hide these figures, the Minister of Health mentioned them at the final collegium of the Ministry of Health on 28 February 2025.

And here is the fact that they decided not to announce - the number of medical workers - pensioners. Doctors of retirement age - 18.0% (8,588 doctors-specialists), middle medical workers - 14.5% (16,084 people).

A year ago, officials reported that they had taken special measures to increase the number of working pensioners. For example, they were going to exempt them from certification to confirm their qualification category and allow them to set individual work and holiday schedules. As a result, in 2024 there will be even more pensioners in medicine: specialist doctors - by 8.0%, and average medical workers - by 3.4%.

Number of Medics In Shortage

‘Staffing of the healthcare industry is one of the ‘pain points’ and requires constant monitoring and taking both operational and long-term measures,’ the authors of the non-public document admit.

According to the Ministry of Health at the end of 2024, the vacancies are as follows:

- specialist doctors - 4069 (-9.3% for the year);

- nurses - 2702 (+42%);

- middle medical workers - 3943 (-2.6%);

- ‘other staff’ - 4,069 (+18%).

The authors of the report say that Brest and Hrodna regions are best provided with medical personnel. In them, ‘staffing by individuals’ is 83.2% and 91.6%, respectively. The lowest level of staffing is in Vitsebsk and Minsk regions, it's 72.4% and 71.5%.

Mastery of Hidden Vacancies

The media, based on the data of the all-republican bank of vacancies, have written many times about the shortage of medics in the country. As a result, the figures on this platform began to be manipulated.

‘The authorities found a way to hide these vacancies. Because of this, we cannot rely on the vacancy bank as an indicator of staff shortages,’ said Lidziya Tarasenka, coordinator of the Medical Solidarity Fund.

Interestingly, the Ministry of Health explained in its annual report how exactly it managed to ‘tweak’ these statistics. Now employers may not notify the labour, employment and social protection authorities about ‘vacant’ part-time (0.25, 0.5, 0.75) positions occupied by workers in excess of the working hours at the basic rate. Officials believe that in this way they ‘streamlined approaches to forming vacancies’.

As a result, the all-republican bank shows fewer positions than there actually are. For example, at the time of publication there were ‘only’ 2708 vacancies of doctors-specialists, for which 3636 people are being searched (although according to the same Ministry of Health, at the beginning of the year there were more than four thousand vacancies).

Struggle for Employees with Private Medical Centres

It also follows from the document we received that private medical centres are waiting for new restrictions on staff. The authors write that ‘the issue of adjustment’ of the Law ‘On Licensing’ has been ‘worked out’.

The Ministry of Health announces two changes:

- to limit the possibility of working in private organisations for medical workers who have a second qualification category;

- tighten the requirements for length of service: seven years in a state organisation, three of which immediately precede the day of applying for a licence.

‘Adoption of this norm may prevent the outflow [from state organisations] of about 1,200 specialist doctors and 22,700 average medical workers who currently have the second qualification category,’ the authors of the document calculated.

According to the plan, they are going to prepare the bill in October 2025, and to submit it to the parliament in March 2026.

Holding Young Professionals in Place

Officials are also trying to solve the problem with the help of young specialists, in particular, they are making sure that the doctors who came on assignment do not leave, but continue to work there. The head of the Ministry of Health has publicly announced that the ‘level of retention’ in the country in 2024 was 78.4% for specialist doctors and 79.9% for nurses (this is more than planned).

The closed report lists the measures that are being taken to achieve this:

- there are more budget and fewer paid places in medical universities: in 2025, they plan to add another 424 budget places and cut 420 paid ones;

- the share of target enrolment in medical universities is growing: in 2024 it reached 70%, and in 2025 this figure is to be increased to 80%;

- reassignment is very difficult: ‘the issues of toughening approaches to the retention of young specialists at the place of employment have been regulated,’ the authors of the document write. In 2024, the department forbade 40 young specialists to change the place of assignment, even despite the consent of the university.

Also local authorities help to find housing for young specialists and employees who have signed a contract for 5 years. ‘According to operational data, in 2024 medical workers are allocated 462 rental flats, 1130 rooms and 608 places in the hostel’, the authors of the document write.

Also, young specialists were allowed to take up related positions after advanced training under reduced programmes.

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