Mass dismissal of oncologists in the clinic. Blokhin

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

The scandal at the Research Institute of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology of the Blokhin National Medical Research Center is gaining momentum. Doctors of the oncology center recorded a video message in which they threatened to massively apply for resignation if the Ministry of Health does not remove the new management of the clinic. Employees complain about the lack of repairs and an opaque payroll system. What is happening and how can it end?

What is happening in the clinic. Blokhin resembles either the script of an action-packed film, or something in the genre of "horror" at all. The conflict in this medical institution broke out back in August, but right now the doctors of one of the main children's oncological centers began to really sound the alarm.

Doctors recorded a video message in which they talked about harassment from the new management, lack of repairs in the clinic, delayed commissioning of new buildings and an opaque payroll system. Doctors delivered an ultimatum - either the new leader Svetlana Varfolomeeva will be fired, or they will leave. The four doctors who recorded the video spoke on behalf of 26 hospital staff.

After that, the senior director of the center, Professor Ivan Stilidi, said that he had dismissed the head of the bone marrow transplantation department Georgy Mentkevich, who took part in the recording of the appeal. Stilidi also said that Mentkevich was reprimanded "for boorish behavior."

On October 1, the Ministry of Health responded to the situation, and he sided with the leadership, not the doctors. The ministry has created a special commission, which will consider the circumstances of the conflict until October 10. But the commission had already decided that the doctors were wrong.

A new round of conflict

In their appeal, the doctors of the center. Blokhin said that the clinic is overcrowded, the patients are in terrible conditions, since there is no normal ventilation in the wards, and "the walls are eaten by mold." At this point in the video message, frames of the walls of the clinic are shown, on which plaster is crumbling.

Oncologists said that the clinic has long been waiting for the move to new buildings, the commissioning of which has been postponed year after year for unknown reasons. The doctors also said that their salaries are calculated non-transparently, and the amount of payments depends on the loyalty of the management.

We announce our decision to quit, since the new management of the cancer center does not allow us to honestly fulfill our medical duties,

- said the deputy director of the Institute of Pediatric Oncology Maxim Rykov.

Moreover, the doctors said that the new management itself is pushing them to be fired.

We appealed to all representatives of the authorities, but they did not hear us. Now we appeal to all citizens of Russia,

- said the doctors.

In fact, doctors are hard not to believe. Small, and sometimes even beggarly, salaries of medical workers of various profiles in Russia are no longer news. And the doctors of the clinic them. Blokhin is not the first to complain about the harsh working conditions with frankly meager salaries. And in this case, recall, we are talking about a children's cancer center.

And even if we do not divide everyone involved in the conflict into right and wrong, the main thing is obviously that this situation is not normal. It is not normal for doctors to complain about working conditions, repairs and low salaries. It is not normal that the management takes the discussion out into the public field, and then doctors in the same field write down an appeal to the citizens of Russia. Finally, it is not normal that the Ministry of Health, as soon as it starts to understand, is already making a "preliminary conclusion" about who is right and who is not.

So, in the comments of the ministry on its website, it says the following:

The speeches of four doctors of the Research Institute of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology are a gross violation of medical ethics and deontology. The Commission continues its work, the results will be communicated to the public through the media.

The commission established the following: during the period when the clinic is headed by the head physician Svetlana Varfolomeeva, there were no dismissals of employees. Doctor Natalya Subbotina, who participated in the treatment, was transferred from one and a half rates to one rate even under the previous leadership due to some disciplinary violations. Finally, the Ministry of Health believes that the doctors' claims are simply unfounded.

“Requirements that director S. R. Varfolomeev, are absolutely justified, correspond to modern approaches and improve the quality of treatment of patients. These requirements are met in all other oncological institutes of the country,”the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

Between a rock and a hard place

Doctors at the clinic. Blokhin, thus, become hostages of the situation. They work in conditions that they don't want to put up with. On the other hand, absolutely all the authorities came out against them in a united front, including even the Ministry of Health. And the only thing doctors can threaten with is their own dismissal.

Let us remind you that earlier the leadership of the center. Blokhin stated that none of the employees were fired. However, Ivan Stilidi has already confirmed that after the start of the conflict he received letters of resignation from five doctors. Until these doctors have been fired. It is worth noting here that in the video message, doctors already say that 26 doctors intend to quit. And this is a completely different alignment, which will mean that the blade will be drained of blood.

The issue of salaries stands out in this conflict. After all, the doctors complained that their payments were reduced, and this is done in a "legal" manner - they are fined, reprimanded.

Some doctors said that they received a salary of less than 20 thousand rubles, in some cases - in the amount of 10 thousand rubles. According to the authorities, a number of nurses really received less than 20 thousand rubles, and oncologists - less than 40 thousand rubles. The medical center also noted that we are talking about reducing the so-called incentive payments.

Just a few weeks later, the director of the medical institution, Ivan Stilidi, announced completely different numbers. According to him, in the first six months, the research staff of the center received an average of 169 thousand rubles, doctors - 179 thousand, nurses - 86 thousand, nurses - 66 thousand.., doctors - 155 thousand, nurses - 81 thousand, nurses - 61 thousand.

So, we have three "truths" at once. The first is a medical one, which says about salaries of less than 20 thousand rubles. The second "truth" is the recent statements of the management that salaries have actually decreased, but oncologists do not receive less than 40 thousand rubles a month. And, finally, there is a third "truth" - with figures well over 100 thousand rubles.

In the wording about salaries of about 169 thousand rubles, one should pay attention to the clarification "in the first six months, the center's researchers received on average." Thus, we are not talking about lump sum payments, but about the amount, which should be divided by six months - that is, just over 28 thousand rubles. In addition, there is a clarification of "average" in the wording of the manual, and the average value is calculated from the total amount received by all employees for the period. The staff also undoubtedly includes the new management, which "influenced" the statistics.

That is why, in the conflict between doctors and management, it is worth looking at the exact numbers, and not the averages for the period. Also, obviously, the Ministry of Health should work with the situation, and if the clinic needs new buildings, then they are needed. If the salaries were cut, and the bosses nevertheless admitted it, then they should be restored, and not declared about the unethical behavior of doctors who simply cannot defend their rights otherwise than by appealing to the public space.

Real problems

Oncologist from the Department of Bone Marrow Transplantation, Clinic named after Blokhin Igor Dolgopolov told Constantinople that the situation in the clinic is very difficult. He confirmed that the conditions at the medical facility were difficult and that there had been no repairs for a very long time.

The point is that, indeed, we have an old building, not only in the children's institute, but also in an adult, and in blood transfusion, in the laboratory there has been no major repairs since its construction, since Stalin's time. Therefore, of course, the conditions are such that in the world such buildings are burned. It's true,

- he said.

Dolgopolov added that he has been working in the clinic for 22 years, and all this time there are talks about repairs. During this time, cosmetic repairs or local repairs were made several times, when the situation was already quite bad.

“Because everyone has been waiting for the move to the new children's institute, which everyone has been promising, for 22 years, by the way. So, as the chief researcher, none of us saw the official order to close the department. I have not seen the estimate of the work, I have not seen the work plan. Rumors are circulating, but these are just rumors, I don't think they need to be repeated. This is my opinion,”the doctor said.

When asked if mold really grows on the walls in the building, the employee replied that there is not only mold, but real mushrooms - "like toadstools in the forest." And this is not a new problem for such institutions, the doctor said.

“Indeed, mushrooms are a problem, and it is not only with us. It is in any hospital in the world and in Russia, do you understand? Open the articles: the mushroom problem is number one in the world in oncological hospitals,”he said.

Dolgopolov also said that such conditions in the building are dangerous for both child patients and doctors who have been working for 30 years. For children, it is doubly dangerous, since we are talking about a decrease in immunity.

The position of the "Alliance of Doctors"

Ivan Konovalov, spokesman for the Alliance of Doctors trade union, which has published a video message from the staff of the center. Blokhin, in August confirmed to Constantinople that the doctors of the clinic were transferred part-time "due to the economic situation." It was also stated that a number of employees could be fired for the same reasons.

Yes, in fact, we have this information from the doctors themselves. They sent us a copy of the order, which says that due to the difficult economic situation, doctors are being cut there,

- he said.

The head of the "Alliance of Doctors" Anastasia Vasilyeva told Constantinople that Georgy Mentkevich, dismissed with a reprimand, today, October 1, gave her a thick stack of statements from the doctors of the center. Blokhin.

“I honestly didn’t have time to count them. Because Georgy Mentkevich gave me a glass. More than ten for sure. Ten plus, I don't know how much. They haven't given everything there yet, not everyone had time in the morning, because someone was busy, and, most likely, there will be statements. Well, that's all. I went to the director and gave it to the secretary. The secretary said that the director would not be here today, but she accepted the application,”Vasilva said.

When asked what does not suit the doctors of the clinic, she replied that the matter was in relation.

“I am not satisfied with the attitude, first of all, of the leadership. It is impossible to do such difficult hard work under the pressure of management. The first thing that Varfolomeeva did was summon Maksim Yuryevich and invited him to quit. A strange beginning of the leadership of the research institute. And she offered to quit not only him, but many other doctors. And it is very strange that they are now unhappy with this process. Because she seemed to be striving for this, she forced to dismiss, she said: write the statements of your own free will,”she said.

In her opinion, the position of the Ministry of Health now looks "strange", as if at the top they were afraid of public opinion and began to look for a way out of the situation.

“The fact that they explained the low salaries is very funny - a violation of discipline. But this generally does not fit into any framework. Well, what discipline, kindergarten we remember. And they considered the doctors' video message a violation of ethics. Well, this is also, of course, funny, because we are all free people, we probably have the right to express our point of view. Doctors are not slaves or things. Probably, they have the right not only to express their point of view, but even to defend at some moments,”said Vasilyeva.

To summarize, there are three important things to say. First, conflict at the country's oldest cancer center is not the norm. The work of an oncologist is very difficult, and when it comes to children with oncology, comments are generally superfluous. Second, the position of the Ministry of Health on the violation of ethical norms and disciplinary sanctions in no way diminishes the problems with difficult working conditions in a building where there has been no repair for a long time, and mold and fungi grow on the walls, according to the doctors themselves.

Third, the commission of the Ministry of Health will work until October 10. During this time, almost all employees will have time to leave the clinic at such a rate. And this means that the problem, apparently, will be solved earlier than the deadline for the completion of the work of the commission, which at this stage performed only the role of a statistician, formally taking the side of the leadership in order to sort it out only later. However, the problem should be addressed immediately.