On July 1, a message appeared on the social network account of the Kaišiadorys District Municipality Health Center: “Doctor Edita Skarakodienė is finishing her work at the Health Center. She worked here for two decades: from 2006 to 2022 she was the director of the institution, later the head of the Nursing and Palliative Care Department.
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E. Skarakodienė had to lead during difficult times when the district hospital experienced pressure from health system reforms, and when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, it was necessary to quickly reorganize the institution’s work, adapt it to the new regime, manage large flows of patients, and organize staff work.”
At the end of the post, the doctor was thanked for her many years of work at the center.
A discussion quickly erupted online about what happened: why, in small towns with such a shortage of health specialists, especially experienced and competent ones, do they leave their jobs and no one tries to keep them.
Finally, E. Skarakodienė herself spoke out publicly about alleged mobbing, a poor psychological atmosphere in the team, and the losses the institution is suffering.
“Why do experienced specialists leave the institution?”
A reader who contacted the 15min editorial office raised the question: why do experienced and valued specialists leave the institution, and their future becomes uncertain?
According to the woman, while the employees of Kaišiadorys hospital and municipality remain silent, the public awaits answers.
She also raised another question: do the hospital’s founders – the municipality leaders and council members – truly represent the community’s interests properly, is the institution managed transparently and responsibly, or are decisions made only for certain interests?
“People should not be remembered only before elections. It is the duty of the elected council members not only to listen to the reports presented by the managers but also to heed the opinions of employees, evaluate financial results, take an interest in the working environment, and ensure transparent and responsible management of the institution.
If experienced employees are truly being lost in the institution, financial challenges are increasing, or doubts arise about the decisions being made, this cannot be seen merely as the dissatisfaction of a few individuals. These are important signals that must be objectively examined and appropriately responded to,” the reader expressed her opinion about what is happening at the Kaišiadorys Health Center, also sending the comment by doctor E. Skarakodienė that spread online.
Simply unbearable
As stated in a public post by E. Skarakodienė, she decided to leave her beloved job “because the psychological working conditions created by the institution’s administration became simply unbearable.”
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According to the doctor, employees in the institution are divided into “their own, loyal” and “undesirables, eternal enemies,” favorable working conditions are created for their own (they can supposedly come and go to work whenever they want, can attend to personal matters during work hours despite patients waiting, receive unjustified 80% bonuses to their salary, wages can reach up to 12,000 euros, etc.), but if you are not “one of them,” even voicing real problems turns into a commissioned official report against you, not to mention salary or communication with you in general.
“It is most regrettable that the manager (the current director of Kaišiadorys Health Center, Linas Vitkus – author’s note) has become not the head of a public institution but of a private company and does whatever he wants, of course with the blessing of the municipality administration, which, together with many council members, does not see problems in the health center and trusts the manager because… the institution receives many thanks!” E. Skarakodienė somewhat ironically wrote in the post.
According to her public statement, under the new manager’s leadership, the institution began sinking into debt, and suppliers allegedly no longer provide medicines and other necessary supplies and goods due to unpaid invoices.
Spoke about loss-making activity
According to the former long-time head of this center, the institution’s financial result is a loss of 750 thousand euros, and a loss of 2 million euros is allegedly planned for the next year, while the institution’s contract with the Territorial Health Insurance Fund (TLK), according to the post’s author, amounts to 7.5 million euros.
“And our elected officials (except for 2) do not even raise questions! The ‘successfully’ working manager is awarded a bonus for ‘good’ work.
It is understandable that when the institution, like ‘Kaišiadorys Waters,’ has become a place for employing needed persons, when we probably will not find a council member who does not have a relative or friend working at the center, then the decisions are understandable and accepted. Has anyone analyzed how inflated the administrative apparatus is, where almost every employee has their unofficial ‘deputy’? It is a pity that only warm places, personal interests, and money, big money, matter,” E. Skarakodienė complained in the post.
According to the interlocutor, proving mobbing is difficult.
She also drew attention to the long delay in appointing an audit for the Kaišiadorys Health Center.
15min contacted the doctor herself. Speaking with the journalist, she was glad that there are people who support her during this difficult stage.
According to the interlocutor, proving mobbing is difficult. One colleague allegedly already complained to the relevant institutions but received the conclusion that there is no mobbing in the institution.
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