ZAGREB CLINICAL HOSPITAL STAFF HOLD MEETING OF SUPPORT FOR DIRECTOR PALADINO

ZAGREB, March 23 (Hina) - Some 600 members of the Zagreb Clinical Hospital's staff held a meeting on Tuesday to support the hospital's director, Josip Paladino, and voice opposition to the launching of procedure to replace him, as they believe that the hospital's business results in 2003 were good.#L# Addressing the meeting, Paladino said the decision on his replacement was neither political nor partisan, but was made personally by Health Minister Andrija Hebrang independent of the hospital's management board and regardless of its 2003 financial statement. "Minister Hebrang has stated clearly that the new authority needs new people, and if that is so, what is the purpose of this farce and why is the hospital staff accused of not working well?" Paladino said adding that the bone of contention was the project of development of the hospital. At the end of 2003, the hospital's debt totalled 55 million kuna, but the hospital claimed 75 million kuna from the Health Insurance Agency, which means that it had a surplus of some 20 million kuna, Paladino said. The hospital operated economically and met all obligations towards patients, said Paladino, whose words were greeted with applause several times. Bringing into question the development project is aimed at obstructing the hospital's development and preventing the timely completion of the project. The reconstructed and extended hospital should be opened for Easter 2006, and possible changes would jeopardise the entire project, Paladino said. The payment of the 73-million-kuna loan, which was obtained from three commercial banks to finance the project, will start in 2009, when the first instalment of 10 million kuna will be paid. In the following three years, with new hospital conditions and additional profits, the hospital will be able to pay instalments on its own, Paladino said. The hospital staff yesterday started signing a petition of support for Paladino. So far, it has been signed by about 700 of some 4,300 members of the staff. (Hina) rml