Allegations of mobbing and incidents at at Berane General Hospital still without an outcome: Ministry claims there are no complaints
After some employees testified about an atmosphere of fear, pressure, and alleged cover-ups of incidents at the Berane hospital, the Ministry of Health stated that it has not received a single report of mobbing and that procedures related to workplace harassment are not within its jurisdiction. At the same time, the Ministry confirmed that an extraordinary inspection was carried out following the death of patient Nikola Dabetić, but that no new inspections are planned for now
Claims by some employees about mobbing, pressure, and incidents at the Clinical-Hospital Center Berane have so far had no institutional outcome - at least when it comes to the Ministry of Health.
In a response provided to Portal ETV, the Ministry stated that from 1 July 2021 to the present day it has not received any report or complaint relating to suspected workplace harassment at this hospital.
This response comes after anonymous sources from the institution told Portal ETV that for years there has been an atmosphere of pressure in the hospital and what they described as systemic mobbing, adding that employees are reluctant to report problems due to fear of consequences.
Ministry: No mobbing complaints received
The Ministry of Health says that during the observed period it did not receive any complaint concerning workplace harassment at that healthcare institution.
- In the period from 1 July 2021 to today, the Ministry of Health has not received a single report or complaint referring to suspected workplace harassment (mobbing) at the Clinical-Hospital Center Berane - the Ministry stated in its response to Portal ETV.
At the same time, they remind that procedures related to mobbing complaints are not within their direct jurisdiction.
Records kept by the institution itself
The Ministry explained that procedures regarding reports of workplace harassment are regulated by the Law on the Prevention of Workplace Harassment and by internal acts of the employer.
- In accordance with these regulations, keeping records of complaints and acting upon them falls under the authority of the healthcare institution itself in its role as employer - the Ministry said.
They added that the Ministry of Health is not the authority that decides on individual cases of workplace harassment nor does it conduct mediation procedures between the parties.
- Such procedures are conducted within the employer’s institution, with the application of relevant legal and by-law acts - the response states.
However, this interpretation of jurisdiction raises the question of where, in practice, the responsibility of the healthcare institution ends and where the responsibility of the system begins, especially in situations where some employees claim that there is no real space within the institution itself to report problems.
No special inspection carried out
When asked whether the Ministry of Health had supervised the actions of the Berane Hospital regarding possible mobbing complaints or other employee grievances related to working conditions and interpersonal relations, the Ministry responded that such supervision had not been carried out.
The reason, they said, is that the Ministry had not received complaints of this kind.
They emphasized that issues related to the protection of employees’ rights arising from employment are regulated by the Law on the Prevention of Workplace Harassment and other labor regulations.
- The primary responsibility for acting in such cases belongs to the employer, while supervision over the implementation of labor legislation is carried out by the competent labor inspection - the Ministry stated.
Extraordinary inspection in the case of a patient’s death
The Ministry of Health also addressed the case of Nikola Dabetić (36), who died after undergoing a colonoscopy at the Berane Hospital, with his family claiming that the fatal outcome resulted from medical errors.
The Ministry stated that, within its legally defined competences, a Commission for Extraordinary External Quality Control of Health Care was established.
- The commission carried out the inspection and prepared a report containing findings and conclusions, which was delivered to the Clinical-Hospital Center Berane, to the initiators of the inspection request, as well as to the doctors who participated in the patient’s treatment - the Ministry announced.
No new inspections
The Ministry added that, given that an extraordinary external quality control inspection has already been conducted in this case, they do not currently plan to initiate additional supervision on the same grounds.
They emphasized that issues of possible disciplinary responsibility of employees, as well as matters concerning employment relations within the healthcare institution, fall under the authority of the institution itself as the employer.
- Supervision over the application of labor regulations is carried out by the competent labor inspection in accordance with applicable legislation - the Ministry stated.
However, this interpretation of responsibilities raises an additional question: how can the existence of mobbing be determined in practice if the institution itself and its management, in this case the hospital administration, are responsible for keeping records of complaints and acting upon them, while some employees are making accusations precisely against that management.
In other words, the dilemma arises as to whether a system in which the same institution accused of harassment decides on the existence of such harassment can provide impartial protection for employees.
For that reason, the case of the Berane Hospital, which includes both the death of a patient and claims by some employees about conditions inside the institution, raises broader questions about institutional oversight mechanisms and the protection of healthcare workers’ rights.
Portal ETV will continue to follow developments at the Clinical-Hospital Center Berane, and the next responses are expected from the labor inspection.