They complain because they have to go to regional clinics

The doctors of the General Medicine Service of the Herceg Novi Health Center protested yesterday about the director's decision to move four selected teams to regional clinics, claiming that thousands of citizens, mostly elderly patients, are thus endangered.

Director of that institution Aleksa Đekić, however, claims that on the eve of the tourist season, due to the lack of staff and poor road infrastructure, they had to assign doctors to clinics in Igalo and Bijela, so that the work process of that health institution would not suffer.

In the letter of part of the doctors, who sign Goran Komar, Zinaida Miljković, Danka Krivokapić, Sanja Topic, Tanja Zgradic, Sanja Čeprnjić, it is stated that due to this management decision, a large number of patients will be forced to re-register.

"We, the doctors of the General Medicine Service of the PJU Dom zdravlja Herceg Novi, declare a sharp protest regarding the redeployment of the four selected teams to regional clinics. Dr. Komar and Dr. Miljković in Bijelo, and Dr. Topić and Dr. Rajković in Igalo. Despite the legal basis of such a management decision (Director and Medical Director Dr Biljana Dapcevic), we find that it fundamentally endangers thousands of citizens, among whom there are mostly old people - the most familiar with frequent visits to doctors. With this decision, the right of citizens to choose a doctor (selected team) on which the reform of the health system rests is abolished, because doctors seem practically unavailable. A large part of patients will be forced to re-register," the letter reads.

Doctors state that, in addition, good practices in health care and respect for doctors who together have almost 90 years of experience are being abolished.

"As experienced and uncorrupted doctors, we see in these steps primarily endangering patients and creating commotion.

As doctors with serious experience, we are interested in contributing to the strategic goals of the health system: work on the detection of early malignancy and chronic non-communicable diseases, the top of which are cardiovascular diseases. A condition for the fulfillment of such a goal is a satisfied healthcare worker," the letter states.

Yesterday, Đekić replied to "Vijesta" that about fifteen days ago he sent a letter to the employees, so that they could declare who wanted to volunteer to work in the clinics in Igalo and Bijela during the tourist season, but that none of the 17 doctors wanted to be assigned to those jobs. . He said that he sent the teams taking into account two criteria - that the doctor's workplace be closer to their place of residence, but also according to their experience.

He pointed out that Bijela has 9.628 inhabitants and only two elected doctors, which is against the norms, and that residents were promised better availability of health services in view of the constant influx of residents, explaining that the needs are greater during the tourist season.

Commenting on the doctors' dissatisfaction, Đekić said that it is a legal possibility to send an employee to a workplace up to 50 kilometers away and that he did not send them "to the end of the world". He said that this schedule is not permanent, judging that he is being unfairly targeted as someone who is responsible for all the problems...