ENGLISH

The consequences of Sebija Izetbegović's terror: With the exodus of doctors, the KCUS lost hundreds of million BAM

From the conference in the ''Veliki park'': We can't stand the mobbing, that's why we're leaving

S. KURT

Since Sebija Izetbegović, wife of Bosniak member of the Presidency of BiH, became head of the Clinical Center of the University of Sarajevo (KCUS), the largest and most important health institution in the country, more than 40 doctors, among them specialists, respectable doctors and medical personnel have left this institution. 

Today, Sanko Pandur, a prominent cardiac surgeon, left KCUS too, and just last week anesthetist Emir Alispahić went to Berlin.

During the past week, the head of orthopedics, dr. Ismet Gavrankapetanović and his colleagues dr. Senad Maksić, doctor Semin Bećirbegović, doctor Mirza Bišćević, doctor Hasan Tanović, and doctor Mehmed Jamakosmanović, left the Clinical center as well.

Intellectual capital

As ''Avaz'' found out, two former employees of the Clinical Center are currently working on a study that will calculate how much money KCUS, and BiH actually lost with the exodus of doctors. One of the authors of the study satates an interesting example for "Avaz":

- The world's largest company, Nokia, claimed that their worth in 2004 was 104 billion dollars. Of that, real estate was worth eight billion, and an unbelieveable amount of 96 billion went to human resources, on engineers and designers ... This is called intellectual capital, which is appreciated everywhere in the world except at the Clinical Center in Sarajevo - says our interlocutor.

For now, he does not want to talk more about the results of the study, but claims that up to now, when counting people, experience, past work and school years, expressed in money, the KCUS lost more than 600 million BAM.

- I'll take into consideration the example of the six orthopedics that left. Together they have at least 150 years of education behind them and almost as many years of experience. They actually have more years of education than work experience. They are at the peak of their physical possibilities, these doctors can now give their best. Their knowledge and education is the capital of this whole country, and not only of the director who plays with people - he concludes.

Former director of the General Hospital, dr. Bakir Nakaš remembers that at the beginning of the war, in May 1992, he had to deal with a hospital who had only five or six doctors.

- If any institution in the world, especially in the field of health, has no staff, the story is over. Back then we accepted young doctors, but it took time to train them until they could start working and make decisions independently. Therefore, I firmly believe that the management of KCUS is diging their own grave. This would be an irrecoverable loss for any medical institution in the World. Surgeons who leave at their peak is a crime against patients. Surgery is a medical field that can't be acquired quickly and overnight - says doctor Nakaš.

Difficult path

He points out that the path to being a surgeon is not easy at all.

- Six years of college, one-year-internship, five years of specialization, and all that just to be called a surgeon. Without experience or talent, one can't even hold a hook, let alone make decisions. Not to offend any young colleagues, but without good and experienced mentors they won't achieve much - concludes dr. Nakaš.

In early September the six orthopedics announced that they could no longer work at KCUS, in "an atmosphere of distrust and anxiety."

- It is impossible to perform well in such an environment - said doctor Maksić.

From today on doctor Pandur is working at ''Opća bolnica'', and from next week doctor Maksić, Bećirbegović and Tanović will do so as well.

However, no one knows what will happen to their patients.

Four hours with the Prime Minister 

As "Avaz" found out, on Friday six surgeons had a meeting with the Prime Minister of Kanton Sarajevo, Elmedin Konaković. He promised to do everything to resolve the situation together with the Minister of Health and the Sarajevo Kanton Assembly, and specifically addressed the cases of Ismet Gavrankapetanovic, Mirza Bišćević and Muhamed Jamakosmanović.

- We talked for more than four hours, he promised he would find a solution, and begged us to continue working at KCUS as best as we know it - said one of the doctors.