Mikhail Murashko: Commitment to the prevention of heart attacks and strokes is a key component of maintaining the health of the working population

The Minister of Health of the Russian Federation Mikhail Murashko took part in the international coal forum "Coal industry - new realities". In his speech at the plenary session, the Minister noted that the preservation of the health of the able-bodied population of our country is one of the priority tasks of healthcare. He also recalled that human capital is the most complex and most difficult to replenish resource in the whole country and the world, and this is especially true of the able—bodied population. 

— Among non-communicable diseases, the dominant ones are not so much occupational diseases, namely diseases of the cardiovascular system. Therefore, the commitment among the employees of the industry to the preventive direction, the prevention of heart attacks and strokes, is a key component of maintaining health. The able—bodied population is the most powerful economic potential in the development of our country today," the Minister said. 

Therefore, the system of health promotion of employees of enterprises includes several blocks, and in the first place among these measures are medical and preventive. In addition, it is the conduct of various types of mandatory examinations — preliminary, periodic, pre-shift, as well as primary specialized medical care, rehabilitation and medical examinations of professional fitness related to diseases. 

— As part of the implementation of national projects, of course, all regions are actively implementing these activities, — the Minister said.  

The project of modernization of primary health care, unprecedented in its scale, taking into account the development of the material and technical base, allows all the necessary preventive measures for the population in comfortable conditions. 

— Therefore, taking into account the development of the material and technical base, taking into account the development of information resources, it is fundamentally important for us that manufacturing enterprises clearly organize work, including with working citizens, on the passage of preventive measures, on the formation of a health-saving environment, — the Minister noted. 

Work on the revision of almost all legal acts in the field of occupational pathology and health protection of the working population is now being carried out within the framework of a new Government decree dated June 5, 2022. In addition, over the past two years, new regulatory legal acts have been developed and approved, which relate to the procedure for mandatory medical examinations - preliminary, during work, as well as after a work shift — and contraindications to work in the mine have also been established, including taking into account the consequences of the COVID—19. 

— For the first time, the use of technical means and medical devices has been regulated in the framework of providing remote approaches to assessing the condition of workers. This request was the most significant in the industry, so it has been implemented today," the Minister explained. 

An important block of health preservation in the coal industry is the concept of industrial medicine and mandatory immunoprophylaxis of workers, he added. 

— Today, during the period of the rise in the incidence of influenza, I would like to ask everyone working in the industry to actively undergo vaccination, including revaccination against COVID-19. We see that the most severe complications of COVID-19 occur in those who have not been vaccinated or underwent the last revaccination more than 270 days ago. Therefore, maintaining health and ensuring a full working cycle is an important task today," Mikhail Murashko said.