ZAGREB, May 7 (Hina) - The steering board of Zagreb's "Sveti duh" hospital appointed Dr. Ante Klobucar acting head of the hospital's gynecology and obstetrics clinic after having accepted yesterday's resignation of the clinic's head,
Dr. Asim Kurjak, the hospital's director, Dr. Dalibor Krpan, said on Tuesday.
ZAGREB, May 7 (Hina) - The steering board of Zagreb's "Sveti duh"
hospital appointed Dr. Ante Klobucar acting head of the hospital's
gynecology and obstetrics clinic after having accepted yesterday's
resignation of the clinic's head, Dr. Asim Kurjak, the hospital's
director, Dr. Dalibor Krpan, said on Tuesday. #L#
A Croatian Doctors Association's (HLK) commission which
investigated the case of Dragica Ivankic, who died during delivery,
has concluded that the patient's death was caused by a mistake of
two gynecologists, so Kurjak offered his resignation until the
completion of the investigation, Krpan said.
The final decision on possible responsibility and disciplinary
proceedings will be made by the HLK upon the completion of the
investigation, Krpan added.
The commission has not established anybody's responsibility nor
have any new elements surfaced in the case, Kurjak told Hina, adding
that nobody had demanded his resignation but that his tendering
resignation was a moral act.
"My resignation is a temporary measure to last until facts are
established and two opposed stands clarified without my
participation," Kurjak said.
Around one hundred experts and gynecologists from Croatia and
abroad believe that there were no professional mistakes in the
case, but the HLK thinks differently, and it is necessary to
establish what is the truth, Kurjak said, adding that he did not
want to take part in the process.
The hospital's steering board decided at a session on Monday that a
commission for internal control should carry out a detailed
investigation into the tragic case and establish whether the truth
was covered up in reports on the case.
The hospital's steering board wants objective circumstances to be
established in a consistent manner, Krpan said, adding that there
would be no covering up of facts and that disciplinary measures
would be taken if the doctors' responsibility was established.
The hospital's steering board has appointed its own commission of
experts to establish possible irregularities and the doctors'
responsibility, and established that the hospital's director and
management have taken all necessary measures to establish the
circumstances of the tragic event in line with the law and ethical
and professional norms.
(hina) rml sb