MOSCOW (Reuters) - Moscow doctors said they were wary of diagnosing patients with heat and smoke-related illnesses out of fear they will lose their jobs, hinting at Russia's long record of covering up the impact of disasters. ...
An unnamed doctor at a Moscow clinic wrote on his site that the bodies of those who had died from heatstroke and smoke ailments over the last few days were piling up in the basement, as the "fridges are full," leaving a "rotting stench." He added the situation was similar at hospitals across Moscow.
"(But) we can't give that diagnosis -- we don't want to be sacked. We have families to feed," he said on his site here; comments that were were carried by several Russian media outlets on Sunday.
He added that if a state of emergency were declared in Moscow as in other regions, doctors have to be paid double.
Another doctor at a major hospital, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that staff had been instructed by senior management to not link patients' illnesses with the heatwave.
Accusations of denial as fires and smoke kill in Russia – Bodies piling up in hospital basements