AT THE POLYCLINIC

The basic medical unit in our country is а polyclinic. There are district polyclinics for the adult population and for the children. The medical insurance cards guarantee people free of charge medical assistance.

The staff of the polyclinic consists of different specialists: therapeutists, neurologists, otholaringologists, eye doctors, surgeons and others. Patient makes an appointment with the doctor at the registry or calls him to his home. Personal information of any patient is kept on a computer now. Computers contain detailed records of the patient’s medical history.

Ambulant patients are seen at the polyclinic by the district doctors. Doctors receive their patients in the consulting rooms, which have modern apparatuses and equipment for patients' examination and treatment. Besides the consulting rooms there is a diagnostic laboratory for making analyses of blood, urine, gastric juice, sputum, an electrocardiography room, rooms for various roentgenologic, roentgenographic, roentgenoscopic, ultrasonic investigations of organs and a procedure room.

Before making a diagnosis, the doctor asks about the patient's complaints, examines him thoroughly. He listens to his heart and lungs, counts his pulse rate, measures his blood pressure and palpates his abdomen and lymph nodes. All findings of physical examination are recorded into the patient’s case-history. A case history is a detailed account of patient’s current illness. It also includes information about his past history, history of familial and hereditary diseases.

Sometimes additional investigations are necessary. Nowadays doctors have at their disposal modern diagnostic apparatuses which help them to gain information required to make a proper diagnosis.

On the basis of all data the doctor makes a diagnosis and prescribes a proper treatment. In serious cases a doctor puts a patient on a sick list or refers him to a hospital.

Prevention of diseases is important. That‘s why population must undergo regular medical check-ups at polyclinics.

Nurses help doctors to examine patients, to fill in case-histories. They also give injections, put bandages and make a wide range of medical and diagnostic procedures.

Doctors at a maternity consultation centres look after the health of expectant mothers from the early months of pregnancy up to delivery.