Russian undertakers 'pay bribes' for tips on the seriously ill

Paramedics working in league with undertakers are among abuses reported by Russian prosecutors in a report on emergency healthcare violations. The chief prosecutor's office said abuses of the free ambulance service existed across the country and it called for tighter monitoring.

In one city, undertakers turned up instead of an ambulance at the home of a seriously ill patient. All Russian citizens are entitled to free emergency healthcare regardless of their circumstances.

The chief prosecutor's office found that in "a number of cities", paramedics had taken payments from undertakers for tipping them off about dead or seriously ill patients, thereby violating citizens' right to privacy.

A criminal investigation is under way in Yekaterinburg, the city where undertakers turned up to offer their services in place of an ambulance.