Development of the system of health care and medical services in the new towns of Transbaikalia (1950-1980s)

The article discusses the development of medical institutions in the new urban settlements of Transbaikalia in the 1950s-1980s. We believe that due to the increased attention of the state to social issues, there was a gradual transition of medical institutions from departmental subordination to the territorial network of the Ministry of Health of the RSFSR. We have considered the roots of many problems in the logistics and staffing of health care institutions. Despite the deployment of a network of new medical institutions, the capacity of hospitals and polyclinics chronically lagged behind the needs of the population. The quality of medical care remained low because of the lack of medical staff, whose workload was higher than the prescribed rates. The shortage of personnel was partly compensated by the advanced training and retraining of medical workers in republican, regional and union centers. The current situation was explained by the priority of industrial construction, the residual nature of financing the healthcare sector, the high workload of the developers of medical institutions, the lack of sponsorship, etc. Based on archival data, we have identified the morbidity patterns of new towns, which were revealed according to the specialization of the settlement. It has been noted that the level of morbidity was influenced not only by compliance with technical safety standards and working methods of enterprises, but also by the provision of urban amenities. The improvement of the diagnostic and preventive work of medical institutions made it possible to reduce the level of work-related diseases. The shortcomings in organization of the health care system were compensated by the enthusiasm, initiative and selfless work of medical workers.