AZE.US
A well-known Azerbaijani designer, Laman Askerova, says a visit to a state hospital in Baku after a serious fall left her shocked by what she described as indifference, poor coordination and a lack of basic care.
In a Facebook post, Askerova said she fell down a flight of stairs in an unfinished building and suffered injuries to her head, nose, arms and legs. She said she was covered in blood when she was taken to Central Clinical Hospital No. 1, widely known in Baku as “Semashko.”
According to Askerova, her relatives were not allowed into the emergency department, while she was left waiting with a bleeding head and nose. She said a young doctor eventually appeared, but did not properly examine her or ask where she was in pain, sending her directly for a CT scan instead.
Askerova said she repeatedly asked for pain relief, but did not receive it. She also claimed that despite dizziness, nausea and severe pain, she was told there were no stretchers available and had to walk to the CT room on her own.
“I said several times that it was hard for me to walk, that I felt dizzy, nauseous and in pain. I was told there were no stretchers, so I had to walk,” she wrote.
The designer said the situation became even more confusing when the doctor later appeared surprised that she had not been given pain medication.
“The doctor says he ordered it. The nurse says it cannot be given before a diagnosis. One says one thing, another says something else. And between them sits a patient with a head injury,” Askerova wrote.
She also said the name of the doctor was not provided to her immediately and was only disclosed after she threatened to call a hotline. Askerova said she eventually filed an official complaint and later received a call promising that the issue would be addressed.
In her post, Askerova framed the incident as part of a broader crisis in Azerbaijan’s health care system, arguing that reforms, mandatory health insurance and modernization slogans mean little if patients cannot receive basic attention in an emergency.
“If health care reform has led to a person with a head injury sitting for hours without help, without pain relief and without basic human treatment, then this is not reform. It is degradation,” she wrote.
The post triggered wide discussion on social media. Some users supported Askerova and shared similar experiences in state hospitals. Others argued that doctors are overworked, under pressure and increasingly pushed out of the public system, leaving state hospitals short of qualified staff.
Several commenters also noted that poor conditions in public hospitals force many patients toward private clinics, where treatment can be financially out of reach for ordinary families.
The hospital, TABIB and other relevant authorities had not commented in the provided materials. AZE.US is ready to publish their response.
AZE.US