Relatives of seriously ill Ingush resident ask Yunus-Bek Evkurov to help with drugs

Relatives and friends of Khava Torshkhoeva, the seriously ill resident of Ingushetia, appealed with an open letter to Yunus-Bek Evkurov, the leader of the republic, in which they claim about the threat of Khava Torshkhoeva's life, since the Republic's Ministry of Health does not give drugs to be received by the women. The Ministry refers to complexity of the procedure for procurement of the drugs.

In their appeal, the family members of Khava Torshkhoeva write that the woman is a Category I invalid and that she got a very rare form of cancer (of breast, lung, brain, bones, and lymph nodes). To prevent metastases to the brain, she needs timely chemotherapy and the necessary drugs.

According to her relatives, on 14 May, they filed an appeal to the Ombudsman in the Republic of Ingushetia. On the same day, they wrote an appeal to the "Rospotrebnadzor" (Russian Federal Agency for Consumer Supervision) in Moscow, and they received a response from there that their appeal had been directed back to Ingushetia for the consideration at the place. On May 16, relatives of Khava Torshkhoeva wrote an appeal to the website of the leader of Ingushetia. They claim that they had not yet received any response.

"Officials from the Ministry of Health say that they will be able to provide drugs only in 20 days, and the woman's issue is vitally important metastases penetrate her brain. If the woman fails to receive the necessary medical treatment till May 24, the situation might lead to disastrous consequences for the woman, who is the mother of six children," the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by Maret, the sister of Khava Torshkhoeva.

According to the woman, her sister needs "Herceptin" drug (440 ml), which costs about 100,000 roubles. "However, she is a Category I invalid, and these drugs should be allocated to her free of charge for her disability," said Maret.

She also stated me that they filed an application for the drug to the republic's clinical hospital of the city of Nazran; however, they got a refusal, which had been explained by the fact that the Republic's Ministry of Health had not timely purchased some drugs, including "Herceptin" drug, vital for Khava Torshkhoeva.

Officials from the social department of the Government Office of Ingushetia reported that on April 26 and on May 7, the drugs were allocated to Khava Torshkhoeva; however, the issue of funding had not been resolved in the government.

The Ministry of Health of Ingushetia has reported that two packs of necessary medication were allocated to Khava Torshkhoeva for May.

"If we hold the auction, I believe that within two weeks we will get "Herceptin" drug, and we will be able to provide Khava Torshkhoeva with the medication. We made an urgent request twice. We gave the woman two packs, each of which worth of 100,000 roubles. The matter is that Torshkhoeva came to us only in the middle of the year, and we usually receive applications for drugs at the beginning of the year and then as necessary," the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by a representative of the Pharmaceutical Department of the Ministry of Health of Ingushetia.

The representative of the Ministry of Health has also emphasized that the period from completion of the application till receipt of medication lasts at least 1.5 months, since it is necessary to hold an auction.

"Usually, in such cases, when people are in urgent need, we conclude a terminal contract. However, we are entitled to conclude only one terminal contract once a quarter, and in violation of the law we have already concluded two such contracts," said the source in the Pharmaceutical Department of the Ministry of Health of Ingushetia.

According to the relatives of Khava Torshkhoeva, at present, she has no medications. The necessary procedures had been done; however, to carry them further, another pack of medication is necessary till next Thursday, May 24.