The head physician at Children's Hospital Okhmatdyt Yuriy Hladush, whose contract expired on 17 January, refuses to leave office.
"[Hladush] has worked on this post for more than 13 years, his contract ended yesterday. Two months ago he was informed that the ministry was going to hold a job competition. It's a dawn of a new era, when top doctors in the ministry will be selected through open contests. Hladush can apply as well, but has appointed one of his deputies instead. He refuses to leave the hospital," the acting Minister of Health Ulana Suprun told a press conference on 18 January.
Suprun said the ministry has received a forged letter in support of Hladysh from the hospital. Its authors, however, have used signatures of hospital employees without their knowledge, so the letter has been withdrawn.
Okhmatdyt national children's specialized hospital is the largest in Ukraine diagnostic child hospital.