Psychiatrists may require a certificate worth 200 UAH from those who have had coronavirus.
Military enlistment office medical commissions have come up with a way to profit from those registering for military service. Psychiatrists may require a certificate worth 200 hryvnias from those who have tested positive for coronavirus. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health insists that all certificates should be free, while military enlistment offices claim they have no influence over medical commissions.
"Have you had COVID? Bring a certificate that you're not crazy."
Journalist "Vesti" Alexey Ermoolenko, who needed to register for military service due to a change of residence, encountered an unexpected occurrence at the Desnyansky District Military Enlistment Office in Moscow. "I needed to register for military service at my new address and get a new military ID card, which I still had, an old-style one. And I discovered that COVID-19 patients are now being sent to a mental health clinic to get a certificate. And there, such documents are issued exclusively for a fee," Alexey recounts.
According to him, his COVID-19 infection in November surfaced during a mandatory medical examination. "During a medical examination, in addition to seeing all the doctors, you're required to undergo blood tests and a chest X-ray. Since I'd had one in December at the hospital where I was being treated for coronavirus, I presented it. And when it came up, the doctor on the medical examination said, 'You had COVID-19, which means you need psychiatric help. You need to provide a certificate from a psychiatric clinic,'" Alexey says.
According to him, such a certificate isn't included in the list of documents required for military registration. "I told the doctor about it. She told me that if I didn't provide it, she wouldn't sign it, and the absence of a signature meant I hadn't passed the medical examination. No medical examination means no military ID, and therefore no re-registration at the new place of residence," Alexey explains.
According to him, the doctor referred him to a clinic under the Kyiv City State Administration. At the clinic, Alexey was given a quick survey. "The questions were completely simple and innocent: 'Have you ever fainted?' 'Have you been treated for severe poisoning?' After that, I paid 200 hryvnias and received a certificate. The doctor had verbally told me that such a certificate was necessary. However, after I presented the certificate, the referral to the psychiatric clinic at 8 Miropolskaya Street was erased, as if it had never existed. But the most curious thing is: if it was so necessary, then logically it should have been given away somewhere. But no. I kept it as a souvenir," Alexey recounts.
In short, the conclusion suggests itself about a scheme orchestrated by military enlistment office staff and doctors from the mental health clinic. Especially since right now, before the draft, the military enlistment offices are crowded with people.
Military commissars: "We don't influence doctors"
Curiously, the military commissar knew nothing about this requirement. The same was true in other regions Vesti contacted. "We don't have such a position, but medical commissions are not under our control. They have a psychiatrist, and his signature is required. But what does coronavirus have to do with it? The logic is baffling," Kirovohrad Oblast military commissar Yaroslav Kucher told us.
Military expert Oleg Zhdanov tells Vesti that this requirement resembles local arbitrary action. "If this is a centralized order to send those who have recovered from coronavirus for additional testing, such a certificate should be included in the list of required documents. If it isn't, it looks like collusion between military recruitment offices and specific clinics," Oleg Zhdanov tells Vesti.
"Covid can cause side effects."
At the same time, specialists say such a requirement from medical commissions is not without logic, as psychosis sometimes occurs in coronavirus patients. "I work in the acute ward, and this year I've observed seven cases of post-COVID psychosis—full-blown, with delusions, complete inadequacy, and mood swings. It may not seem like much, but these people had no such problems before COVID. Incidentally, among them were doctors and a successful programmer. And according to research by Australian scientists, psychosis occurs in up to 4% of patients with COVID and post-COVID cases," psychiatrist Elena Taranenko, head of the department at Pavlov Kyiv City Psychiatric Hospital No. 1, told Vesti.
According to her, there is a list of professions that require a certificate from a psychiatrist: doctors, public transport drivers, food industry workers, military personnel, and civil servants.
"There could be several reasons why these people were sent for a certificate. Previously, the medical commission was held at our hospital. If any incidents arose during the medical examination, people from the military registration and enlistment offices were sent to our hospital for examination. But now the National Health Service of Ukraine doesn't pay us for this work. And I don't rule out that our commission is now being replaced by a doctor's certificate. But I emphasize: I can only speculate, since we don't receive regulatory documents from the Ministry of Health," says Taranenko.
"Certificates are free"
The Ministry of Health told Vesti that psychiatric and addiction specialist certificates are free for military enlistment offices. "Military enlistment offices require conscripts to provide both psychiatric and addiction specialist certificates. However, these certificates cannot be paid for," the Ministry of Health press service told Vesti.
In response to Vesti's inquiry, the Ministry of Health also stated that nothing had changed for conscripts due to the pandemic. "No additional examinations or certificates from specialized doctors are required. A vaccination certificate is also not required. Even if a conscript has had coronavirus, the Ministry of Health's regulations do not require the submission of any additional certificates to the military registration and enlistment office medical commissions. Such certificates are also not required for those who, for various reasons (for example, due to a change of residence), register for military service," the press service of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine told Vesti.
However, the psychoneurological clinic on Miropolskaya Street, which serves the capital's left-bank districts, told Vesti that the requirement to obtain a certificate only applies to out-of-towners who are relocating to the capital and registering for the hospital.
"For Kyiv residents, all psychiatric certificates are free, including for those changing their registration within Kyiv. However, if someone isn't registered in Kyiv, changes their registration, and registers for military service in the capital, a psychiatric certificate is required. However, this isn't related to COVID-19," the clinic told Vesti.
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