Director of Cetinje General Hospital “Danilo I” Ivan Ivanovic claims that last week the specialist in training at that institution was a surgeon from the General Hospital in Bijelo Polje.
He made this statement in response to an article in "Vijesti" about the difficult organization of work in the Department of General Surgery at that institution.
However, the editorial team was told by the Bijelo Polje General Hospital that their employee, Dr. Nebojsa Janjusevic helped colleagues in the capital, but not during the period that Ivanovic is talking about, but rather that he ended his standby duty at the Cetinje hospital on Monday, June 9.
"Vijesti" announced yesterday that the Cetinje hospital has not had enough specialists in the Department of General Surgery for some time, and also that last week there was no surgeon on standby for patients from the capital and Budva.
"On 19. 6. 2025, you announced in your electronic media ''Vijesti'' that the Public Health Institution General Hospital 'Danilo I' Cetinje was without a doctor-surgeon on duty last week. We hereby wish to deny the published information. Last week, a surgeon from Bijelo Polje, Dr. Janjušević, was on duty because the Head of the Surgery Department was on sick leave," claim the Cetinje hospital.
They specified that due to the lack of surgical specialists, they are hiring doctors from other institutions.
“…In order to provide patients with continuous healthcare. We are hiring Dr. Nikolina Ostojić from Pljevlja General Hospital, Dr. Blaž Stijović from KBC Berane, as well as Dr. Nebojša Janjušević from Bijelo Polje General Hospital. Surgeons from KC Podgorica will soon start operating in our institution," the letter, signed by Director Ivanović, states.
He previously did not answer questions for days, and the editorial team is also expecting an answer to yesterday's question about which surgeon was on duty at that hospital from June 10th to 16th.
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In the answers of the Bijelo Polje General Hospital to the questions of "Vijesti", it is stated that Dr. Janjušević is engaged at the "Danilo I" hospital under a contract for additional work, in accordance with the Regulation on detailed conditions for performing additional work of health workers and health associates. This information was confirmed by Dr. Janjušević in a short telephone conversation with the journalist.
"He performed additional work outside of working hours, during his annual leave in April and June. As for readiness, the aforementioned surgeon was not ready in the period you specified, but in the period from 3. 6. 2025 to 9. 6. 2025 at the General Hospital "Danilo I" Cetinje. We would like to point out that the Public Health Institution General Hospital Bijelo Polje provides assistance to health institutions - health centers and hospitals that have a staff shortage, so that they can provide health care without hindrance, at the request of the head of the health institution, and all this is an indicator of good cooperation in the health system and the provision of quality and continuous health care for all patients," the Bijelo Polje General Hospital replied to "Vijesti".
Work at the Department of General Surgery at Cetinje Hospital has been difficult for more than a year.
The head of the Department of Surgery has repeatedly warned the management of that health institution about staffing problems. Predrag Milošević, claiming that with three doctors, including himself, it is impossible to organize work - on-call, standby, work in the ward and outpatient clinic.
According to sources from "Vijesti", he explained to the management of the hospital several times that one surgeon, a seventy-year-old retired surgeon, was working part-time, while the other was working part-time, and the resident could not independently perform tasks in the operating room and be on call and on standby.
The Ministry of Health previously told the editorial staff that they were aware of the issue of staff shortages at the Cetinje hospital.
They also pointed out that the organization of healthcare provision within healthcare institutions depends on several factors.
"Such as the number of patients, specializations of doctors, availability of equipment and resources, and the general healthcare system in the country. In Cetinje, the Department of Surgery is adapted to the needs of the community and available resources," the Ministry of Health specified.
They also announced that, at the initiative of the director of the "Danilo I" General Hospital, a meeting was held at the Clinical Center of Montenegro.
"The topic of the meeting was the establishment of cooperation between the Clinical Center of Montenegro and the General Hospital 'Danilo I', with the aim of engaging digestive surgeons from the Clinical Center of Montenegro in that general hospital," the Ministry specified.
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