The management of "Mother's Home" does not allow anesthesiologist Dr. Elena Georgieva, who was reinstated by the Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC) in early October, to work. Dr. Georgieva returned to her old job on Monday, November 11 (probably November 11 is meant - corrected from "November 10" after the clarification in the text), after two and a half years of absence, but according to her, from the first day she was prevented from working normally, she was subjected to aggression and threats. What is happening... Dr. Elena Georgieva speaks to FAKTI.
– Dr. Georgieva, your saga with “Mother's Home“ continues. There is a court decision that reinstates you to your job, but this is not happening because…
– The saga continues and I somewhat expected such actions, but the things that happened exceeded my expectations. I was completely amazed, because the executive director of “Mother's Home“ Dr. Ivan Kostov, in the most unceremonious way, did not comply with a court decision of the Supreme Court of Cassation. Nothing prevented him from playing a trick on police officers. I am shocked. I did not expect such aggression, such escalation, such attitude. With a decision of the Supreme Court of Cassation, I am reinstated to my job, which means that the court does not ask the employer what he thinks about the matter. I go and start performing the position to which I was reinstated, if I wish. I do not need a new contract.
– And what did you encounter when you went to work?
– Things were absurd. The security guards were sent several times to take me out of a certain room or not to allow me to enter a certain part of the hospital because there was an order that I should not be allowed on the territory of the health facility.
– What is this order, who issued it?
– I have not seen an order. I had to write down a security guard who met me. I asked for his consent to be written down. He said that the order was from the executive director, Dr. Ivan Kostov. He admits that his boss also “harassed him a lot“. He himself neither approached me nor touched me. The other hospital employees – with the exception of a few people – behaved well-intentionedly, did not stopped.
The most unpleasant, absurd and unacceptable thing for me was the police officers' antics, for which they should be held accountable.
They were called and walked around even when I was not in the building…
– What do you mean? Tell me how it happened…
– It was November 10 (Monday), when two police officers were called to the hospital building to look for me after my working hours. According to them, they were called at around 3:00 p.m.
And, as they themselves said, I was searched in the building for two hours at a time when everyone knew I was not inside.
The next day – November 11 (Tuesday) – they called again police officers at the hospital on a signal from someone from the “Mother's Home“, to come and search for the person Elena Georgieva, who “should not be on the hospital grounds”. The same police officers who had been looking for me the day before were on duty. They literally started looking for me again. I was not hiding at any point - I was at the general hospital report on Monday, I was at the three reports at the clinic where I am recovering. No one has ever stopped me. I was not hiding and everyone knows where I am. On Tuesday, a search began again up and down the floors. Eventually, they “found me”. I was with my lawyer because after the events of the previous day, I asked her to accompany me. The lawyer was carrying all the documents, including the decision of the Supreme Court of Cassation and the ruling of the Sofia District Court, which orders the deadline by which I must report to work, if I wish. Showing them the documents, the police officers were slightly surprised exactly what they were doing in the hospital. We wrote information - me, the lawyer and a colleague - after which, as far as we found out from them themselves, the director Ivan Kostov refused to provide information. The policemen left and I decided that this was the end of this crazy saga.
- But it's not over?
- No. The next day - Wednesday - I no longer carried the court decisions, because I didn't expect to have to carry a whole folder and go to the operating room with documents that I had already shown. I was surprised when three police officers came out of the elevator this time - their number was increasing - and the same thing happened again: lawyer, police... The policemen themselves wondered why they were called in again. That is, we were playing the police for three days in a row. Apparently I was getting more and more more dangerous.
– How did the director react?
– At the general hospital report, which is led by the director Ivan Kostov himself, he did not say once: „Dr. Georgieva, would you leave?“ or „Your place is not here“. Which would be much more civilized.
– Did you also mention cases of aggression?
– Yes. On November 12, there was verbal and somewhat physical aggression from a staff member and the head of the Second Gynecological Clinic – Rumen Dimitrov, respectively. I was in the operating room when Rumen Dimitrov behaved rudely with me and said that „he would sweep the floor of the operating room or the corridors“ – I don't remember exactly. To „sweep the floor with a doctor“ – It's absurd.
– How do colleagues accept what they witness?
– Midwives were walking in the corridors in tears. There were people looking for me to tell me that they were sorry for what was happening to me, which they were involuntarily witnessing. As a doctor, after a hard night shift, I sit for two hours to write information about the case. My colleagues are well-intentioned, but the attack against me is from several people. Otherwise, the doctors cannot believe that this is happening in this hospital.
– Do you feel allowed to work at all?
– I was not allowed to work. A personnel officer said that I had no right to work until I provided some documents. Apparently, she also puts herself above the court. I did not touch a patient. I was assigned to an office, but the employee in question, Teodora Chapaeva, told me that there was no way I could go to an office and do any work because I had to provide documents. In reality, I did not threaten anyone.
– The Ministry of Health is the principal of “Mother's Home“. Another set of signals. And…
– The Ministry of Health is my favorite. A fourth minister is familiar with the saga. I sent a signal to Minister Silvi Kirilov. I expect to see how he will react. Everything is described. If he does not react to this either – his immediate resignation, as well as the removal of the hospital management.
There is no way that the director of a state hospital that works with public funds can behave like a feudal lord, harass doctors, and play tricks on law enforcement.
What amazed me the most was that a person allowed himself to walk around police officers, who I am convinced have much more meaningful work to do at this moment than spend hours in the “Mother's Home“ and take the same information two days in a row. The words of the police officers themselves were: “Doctor, what should we do so that we don't come tomorrow?“ Think of how absurd we are talking about.
I had to call 112 several times because, when I entered the women's restroom, the personnel officer tried to go in with me and stood at the door so that I couldn't use it. This is absurd. My colleagues are shocked - even those who don't know me.