These days, the public is making waves with the removal from the position of director of the founder of Macedonian cardiac surgery, prof. Dr. Sashko Jovev. The lawyers of Dr. Jovev say that his dismissal is due to a bizarre reason, non-approval of duty by the Minister of Health, but not by the current Fatmir Mejiti, but by ex-Minister Bekim Sali. The decision is in the archive, it is not signed by the director Jovev. The employees fully support Jovev and say that they are leaving with him. In "Utrinski Pečat" on Slobodna TV, we talked with Professor Jovev about the course of the entire dismissal, about the moment he was on sick leave when he found out together with the media that he had been dismissed.

- I was away, the decision is in the archive, it was made late, almost at the end of the working day. I was on sick leave and before the decision was made at our clinic, I had several calls from some people from the Ministry of Health that I should be dismissed. I wondered why and how - says Jovev.

He explains that they recently opened a hybrid hall at the Clinic, which was attended by the Prime Minister. The minister did not appear, he does not know for what reason.

- We opened a new hybrid hall, we are becoming a regional center for Cardiosurgery. This hall provides extracorporeal support for up to 3 months to patients who do not have a heart or lungs and are waiting for a transplant. The minister did not come to the opening, I don't know for what reason. The hybrid hall is a donation from the World Bank, but the minister probably thought that maybe the invitation was sent late - says Jovev.

Everyone was duly invited, but Jovev says that they probably did not understand each other.

- I don't have a clinic protocol, I have an administration, someone received an invitation earlier, someone later, one date suits another, another date and I found myself unselected. We set a date, the Prime Minister came, the minister did not come and then an unpleasant situation arose that I did not follow certain protocols and made a big mistake - says Jovev.

He explains that immediately after that, a commission appointed directly by the minister was sent on the same day they opened. But it was not a commission from the Sanitary Inspectorate, as Minister Fatmir Mejiti claimed.

- It was a commission from the Ministry of Health on working hours, on duty, they acted on 17 points. We had documents for everything, we understood each other and I hope everything went well. Even if there were mistakes, they are certainly minor, who works and makes mistakes. So we can interpret it as a regular control - says the professor.

He explains that this control was directly appointed by the minister's office. When asked if it was the Minister of State's vanity because the reason for his dismissal was bizarre, Jovev said that he really does not know what is happening and he does not know what is behind his dismissal, but he believes that it is a mistake of the Minister or some misunderstanding.

- I don't know what's behind this, if there was a mistake, he should tell me to fix it, to apologize if necessary, but nothing major for sure. As for duty, all directors are on duty, especially me who has a young team behind me. I don't sleep, I operate after 5-6 hours. I work a lot, and my family is also a victim - says Jovev.

He hopes that the minister's statement that he is sleeping on the job just came out and that it was not maliciously said and that it can be changed.

- But I am surprised at such statements and I doubt that there is something bigger behind this, but I don't want to believe it - says the director.

He will not leave the clinic, he will stay because if he goes, everyone goes with him. It is a sin to dismantle the clinic and let the people become collateral damage. After the press conference, he received support from SDSM, whose director's position is cardiac surgery, from Mejiti's deputy, Manoleva, who is from SDSM, from DUI, from the opposition parties, from the media.

- One of the deputies of the Prime Minister also called me, he said that I have complete support from them, but Kovacevski did not call personally. The employees are all injured, we make sacrifices for our patients and I have complete support from them - says Jovev.

He says that the foreign colleagues, directors of foreign clinics, but also from the region, are surprised and ask how they can help.

- I don't know if my shift is a party calculation, but I know one thing, I am collateral damage. I don't want to be a victim of party calculations, but in the end it turns out that way. I know that many colleagues have been offered my place, but all colleagues have refused, with the answer that he is our professor and we cannot replace him - says Jovev.

He does not know how long the change decision will remain unsigned in the archive and what will happen if it is not signed. He will consult with the lawyers this afternoon. He announces a lawsuit, but will wait for the resolution of the case.

- Whatever happens, I will continue to work, patients will be operated on, as long as there are materials. But since I can't sign, at some point we will run out of materials. But as long as there are materials, there will be operations - says Jovev.

The doctor says that he is not angry with the minister - he thinks that this is a misunderstanding that will be corrected.

Watch the entire interview on Slobodna TV: