ArmInfo. Due to the closure of the maternity hospital in the Maralik community (Shirak region), the situation is heating up. On January 8, local residents closed the Gyumri-Yerevan highway in protest in the hope of drawing the attention of the authorities to the situation. They are concerned that the closure of the maternity hospital will adversely affect the availability of medical services, despite the fact that this problem is already acute in remote communities.
For their part, the staff of the medical institution voices concerns about the prospect of losing their job. According to them, they were notified of this decision at the end of last year, and - verbally. They note: the Maralik community has 24 thousand inhabitants, and instead of closing the maternity hospital , it would be more expedient to increase the staff of specialists.
The Ombudsman's office reacted to the situation, promising to keep the issue in the spotlight. In addition, today the situation was discussed between protesting residents, employees of the hospital and representatives of the Ministry of Healthcare. The closure of the medical facility is also planned to be discussed in the regional administration of Shirak.