Six surgeons leaving KCUS, including Dr. Ismet Gavrankapetanović

Three surgeons from the Clinic for Orthopedics and Traumatology are leaving the University Clinical Center Sarajevo and moving to the General Hospital "Prim. dr. Abdulah Nakaš", in response to deteriorated interpersonal relations in the largest healthcare institution in Bosnia and Herzegovina, reports Patria agency.

Dr. Semin Bećirbegović, Dr. Senad Maksić, and Dr. Hasan Tanović are moving to the General Hospital. Out of 17 surgeons at the Clinic for Orthopedics and Traumatology, three are leaving the Clinic at the beginning of next month, and at least three more surgeons have announced their departure. Dr. Ismet Gavrankapetanović, Dr. Mirza Biščević, and Dr. Mehmed Jamakosmanović have also announced their departure from the Clinic.

- We decided that we can no longer endure this kind of pressure, mobbing, and uncertainty - Dr. Tanović told Patria.

Dr. Sebija Izetbegović, wife of SDA president and member of the Presidency of BiH Bakir Izetbegović, was appointed head of KCUS at the beginning of 2016. Since then, more than 40 doctors, including about ten professors, have left KCUS. They claim that this staff cannot be replaced for the next decade. Doctors complain about mobbing but also a lack of basic work resources. All of this, they warn, affects the quality of services they provide to patients.

"We are not leaving our patients, but the system. We want to continue our careers elsewhere where our rights will be respected. It was important for us to remain available to our patients who can continue their treatment with us. We are glad that we have achieved this with the General Hospital dr. Abdulah Nakaš", says Dr. Tanović.

He is not irreplaceable, but he fears that if the KCUS management continues with mobbing, other doctors will soon leave this healthcare institution.

Former head of the Clinic for Orthopedics and Traumatology, Dr. Ismet Gavrankapetanović, recently confirmed that the management reprimanded a nurse who felt unwell during work and to whom colleagues provided medical assistance.

Dr. Gavrankapetanović's lawyer, Senad Pećanin, warned that the Commission illegally searched Dr. Gavrankapetanović's personal belongings.

Hundreds of Sarajevo citizens have called for an end to the pressure on KCUS surgeons, but the management has ignored these demands.

"We waited a long time for things to change, unfortunately, that did not happen", says Dr. Tanović.