Mikheil Sarjveladze: There was a major misunderstanding regarding Batumi - a violation occurred that requires a legal response, while Jumber Bolkvadze decided to leave on his own, without anyone asking him

“Unfortunately, there was a major misunderstanding regarding Batumi, which arose impulsively. A doctor was refusing to provide a patient with the necessary medical assistance, which is absolutely unacceptable from any doctor – we will always oppose this,” Health Minister Mikheil Sarjveladze told journalists, commenting on the developments surrounding Jumber Bolkvadze, head of the emergency medicine department at Batumi Republican Hospital.

According to Sarjveladze, claiming that the patient was refused admission because there were no available beds is “an absolute lie,” as he said the hospital had sufficient capacity at the time both in the emergency and intensive care departments.

“Unfortunately, there was a major misunderstanding regarding Batumi, which arose impulsively. The situation is as follows: At the beginning of June, an 85-year-old woman who had undergone surgery at Batumi Republican Hospital needed treatment for a post-operative complication. The emergency medical service contacted the clinic, but this particular official at Batumi Republican Hospital refused to admit the patient without specifying a reason.

“It is completely irrelevant how he documented all of this. What matters is that a doctor was refusing to provide the patient with the necessary medical assistance, which is absolutely unacceptable from any doctor. We will always oppose this.

“So Mr. Jumber understood that he would have to take responsibility for this. Claiming that there were no available beds is an absolute lie. At that moment, the hospital had sufficient capacity both in the emergency and intensive care departments. This is also evidenced by the fact that, after several senior officials and I personally became involved, the patient was eventually admitted to the same clinic. It required a great deal of effort because one particular individual was absolutely unjustifiably refusing to admit the patient.

“This is a violation that definitely requires a legal response. After that, Mr. Jumber decided to leave on his own, without anyone asking him to do so. He stated that he intended to leave his job at the end of September. The development of events was unexpected for me. Against this background, there is no reason for all the commotion, and, to tell you the truth, he put himself in an awkward position.

“Yesterday evening, I met with the institution’s management. When I provided them with documented information about all the circumstances, many things also became clear to them.

“Therefore, before we start talking about storms, everyone should clearly understand what we are dealing with. This is categorically unacceptable conduct that requires a legal response. There will definitely be a legal response, regardless of whether someone wants it or not, what form they choose for their defense, and so on,” Sarjveladze said.

For reference, doctors at Batumi Republican Hospital held a protest rally yesterday. The medical workers said that Health Minister Mikheil Sarjveladze was demanding the resignation of Jumber Bolkvadze, head of the emergency medicine department, which they described as an unfair decision.

The protesters said the case concerns an incident that occurred several months ago, when a particular patient could not be admitted promptly due to a high number of patients and a lack of available beds at the clinic. According to the protesters, when the emergency medical crew asked where they should take the patient, Jumber Bolkvadze reportedly responded that they should “take [the patient] to the minister.”