Russian doctors who criticised Covid-19 response found dead after window falls

Two women died in unusual circumstances and a man is in a critical condition – all had argued with colleagues over workplace policies towards Covid-19

A medical specialist wearing a protective suit escorts a patient to a hospital complex for patients with the Covid-19 disease in Russia. EPA

Three Russian healthcare workers have fallen from hospital windows in mysterious circumstances within the past two weeks, placing working conditions for frontline workers in the spotlight.

Two of the staff died from their injuries while one is in a critical condition in intensive care, local media reported.

Alexander Shulepov, 37, has a skull fracture after falling from the second floor of a rural hospital where he was being treated for Covid-19.

His colleague reportedly filmed a video last month in which Mr Shulepov said the chief doctor of his hospital forced him to continue working after he tested positive for the coronavirus.

The colleague had previously been questioned by the police for spreading “fake news” after complaining about a lack of protective gear.

Earlier in May, the acting head doctor of a hospital in Krasnoyarsk in Siberia died after spending a week in intensive care.

A local TV station reported at the time that Elena Nepomnyashchaya fell of a window during a meeting with regional health officials to discuss using the clinic to treat Covid-19, a move she was said to have opposed.

On April 24, Natalya Lebedeva, the head of the emergency medical service at Star City, the main training base for Russia’s cosmonauts, died in hospital after a fall.