The head of the Ministry of Health has ordered regional authorities to improve real access to dental care for children in Kazakhstan, according to infohub.kz.
The ministry's Telegram channel reported that Akmaral Alnazarova instructed regional leaders to pay special attention to dental care for preschool children and to eliminate queues when obtaining treatment appointments.
"For us, the main thing is not reports or figures on paper. Behind every indicator stands a specific child and a specific family. If parents are forced to come at five in the morning and stand in line to get dental care for their child, then the system is not working well enough. We must fix this," the minister said.
The minister noted that dental care for children under state programs is funded by the government. In this regard, she said, the main focus should be on effective organization and coordination of existing resources.
"We should not shift this problem onto parents or constantly seek additional budget funds. First of all, we need to properly organize the work of the resources we already have. A child should not be left without help just because their parent could not get an appointment or stood in line for hours. Our task is to ensure that necessary assistance is available in a timely manner and close to where the family lives," Alnazarova said.
The minister instructed deputy akims of regions and relevant departments to strengthen coordination between health departments, education departments, medical organizations, and the Social Health Insurance Fund.
"We should not wait until parents are forced to turn to social media or file complaints. Local leaders should see such problems earlier and solve them before a person faces a barrier in accessing medical care," the minister added.
The Ministry of Health assured that it will continue monitoring the situation and assessing the actual availability of medical services for children in all regions of the country.