Medical care of the workers of defense plants of Novosibirsk region in 1941-1943

The process of organization and implementation of medical care for the workers of defense enterprises was considered. Based on the analysis of historiography, it was concluded that the topic had been insufficiently studied. With the help of documents extracted from the State Archive of the Novosibirsk Region, an attempt was made to briefly highlight the main stages of the folding of medical network serving industrial enterprises, to reveal the main areas of activity. It was noted that by the beginning of the war, medical care for workers was carried out in general manner, there was no specialized network. The deployment of extensive defense production in the region, the arrival of a large number of evacuated factories coincided with the weakening of health care, which caused a crisis of the previous model of medical care for workers. In late 1941 - early 1942, a closed network of medical institutions was being formed. During this period, the work was carried out in many ways chaotically; there was no elementary order in the design of sick leaves, maintaining statistics. Systematic work to preserve the health of the workers began only in the spring of 1942. Later, the growth of medical network continued. The novelty of the tasks set, the inexperience of the staff, the lack of resources, the lack of support from the management of a number of enterprises led to the fact that in 1942 the situation with the morbidity of the workers remained difficult. Nevertheless, the system was formed as a whole: first aid to workers, regular medical examinations, and sanitary and industrial supervision were organized. The actions were planned for the prevention and treatment of women's diseases, tuberculosis, which were significant for the contingent of the workers of the war years. Further strengthening of the activities in the areas planned in 1942 led to a turning point with the morbidity of workers, already in the first half of 1943, the number of days of disability at significant number of enterprises decreased to pre-war values. This success significantly affected the efficiency of military production.