An investigation has been launched at Talgar Central District Hospital after a complaint from a Kazakh woman. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.

Queues, diagnoses "on the run" and doctors who failed to show up for work. That was the reality faced by a mother of a one-month-old child at the Talgar Central District Hospital. Her story about indifference and poor organization of work resonated online and attracted the attention of the head of the Almaty region health department.

"Today I came with my one-month-old child from Besagash to the Talgar Central District Hospital. After this experience, I had questions not only about the doctors, but also about the organization of the hospital's work in general," the Kazakh woman wrote on the social network Threads.

She explained that she had arrived for an 8:30 appointment. A large queue had already formed near the office since 7 a.m. Appointments were being conducted both by booking and on a walk-in basis.

"At 08:40 I entered according to my appointment. After me, a woman booked for 08:40 went in. The question arises: why does advance booking even exist then? People sit in the corridor for hours with small children, waiting their turn, some take time off work, some leave other children at home. Is it really impossible to organize a normal appointment system?" she asked.

A separate issue arose for the Kazakh woman with the ultrasound doctor. She said she had come to have her one-month-old child's head examined, but could not get a proper consultation.

"I understand that an ultrasound doctor is not obliged to make a diagnosis and conduct a full consultation. But when a mother asks: 'Please tell me, is everything okay with the child's brain?', I would like to get at least a normal comment on the result of the examination. Instead I got a short answer: 'No, he has hypoxia' — and the next patient," she said.

The woman stressed that she was not asking for an hour-long consultation, but only for an elementary explanation of what exactly the doctor saw on the ultrasound.

She also reported that on that morning it turned out that one pediatric surgeon had gone on vacation, and the second, who was supposed to be covering, had taken leave. People only learned all this after standing in line for some time.

"I perfectly understand that doctors are people too. Everyone can have family circumstances, illness, vacation. But why can't patients be informed about this in advance? Why should a mother with a one-month-old child come to the hospital, stand in line and only then find out that the specialist will not be there at all today? Is there really no person at the hospital who gathers information in the morning about which specialists are working today, who is covering for whom and who is seeing patients?" she said indignantly.

The woman stressed that she was not comparing a state clinic with a private one and understood the difference in workload, number of patients and working conditions. But, in her opinion, respectful treatment and informing patients should be a given.

The Kazakh woman's criticism quickly drew a response. The head of the Almaty region health department, Yerzhan Suleimenov, left a comment under the post.

"I apologize for the difficulties caused, I will look into the situation and will provide you with information further. Once again, I apologize," Suleimenov wrote.

Later, messages from the Talgar Central District Hospital administration appeared under the post, saying they had conducted a check and found that the appointment time had shifted insignificantly.

"In medical practice, the duration of an appointment may vary depending on the patient's condition and the volume of examination required, so it is not always possible to ensure that each appointment finishes to the minute. However, your child underwent neurosonography in full, medical care was provided, as well as consultations with a surgeon and a neurologist," the statement said.

Earlier, Kursiv wrote that Kazakhstanis have increasingly been booking doctor's appointments themselves through digital services.

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