Doctors from In the Middle of the City Clinic protest against the appointment of a new director
By Tatia Megeneishvili
Friday, October 11
Doctors from the clinic In the Middle of the City are protesting against the appointment of a new director. The doctors are demanding the return of the previous head of the clinic.
Medical personal at the clinic have prevented the new director from entering his office. According to doctors at the clinic, the former director was fired for refusing to sign a document related to the purchase of an adjacent building. Medical staff have also complained about the new director's authoritarian style of administration.
Lasha Mikautadze, the new director of the In the Middle of the City clinic, has denied reports that he assaulted someone and explained that the Mayor’s Office appointed him as director due to his predecessor having health problems. “No abuse has taken place against employees. Their protest is motivated by only one thing: their left and right pockets will no longer be full of patients' money." Mikautadze stated. Mikautadze was referring to patients paying doctors under the table for medical treatment. Such transactions are not registered in the clinic's official bookkeeping.
"That's a lie. We are proud of the fact that we don’t even know what black bookkeeping is.” stated one of the clinic’s doctors in response to Mikautadze's statement.
The Tbilisi City Council held a special session about the situation at the clinic. The meeting was attended by clinic staff, Mikautadze, trade unionists and an investor. The meeting was followed by arguments and the Chairman of City Hall dismissed Mikautadze from the hall.
Chairman Irakli Shikhiashvili stated that the Mayor’s Office is violating the law and using investor Kakha lomsadze as a shield. He also called on law enforcement agencies to immediately begin studying Ltd’s business. He once again called on Parliament to give the Tbilisi City Council equal footing with the Mayor's Office.
