Skopje, 22 March 2024 (MIA) — Private General Practitioners (GPs) will suspend work between noon and 4 p.m. on Monday in a show of revolt after a collegue doctor was found dead with multiple stab wounds at a parking lot in front of the Zhelezara polyclinic late Thursday, President of the Association of Private General Practitioners, Lidija Cholakova Dervishova, told MIA.

"We are appalled by this heinous act. This is our colleague and professional who has dedicated his whole life to the profession. Does this mean we should live with the fear that someone who is not satisfied with our work for some reason can simply come after us after our working hours and take away our life. We will express our revolt and suspend work between noon and 4 p.m. on Monday," said Cholakova-Dervishova.  

She stressed that it is necessary to pass a law that will accurately define the working conditions, rights and duties of doctors and thus protect doctors' work, and called on the Ministry of Health to speed up the process. 

The doctors' chamber also condemned the murder of the doctor, urging competent institutions to immediately resolve the case.

"We'd like to stress that no violence in society must be tolerated, because violence is not an appropriate way to solve problems. We urge competent institutions to immediately take all necessary measures to determine the circumstances in which the incident took place, find the perpetrator and impose a sanction," the doctors' chamber said in a press release. 

The loss of a doctor is also a loss of the entire healthcare system, adds the press release, noting that the doctors' chamber remains vigilant to the development of events and will react accordingly.

The Ministry of Health told MIA that the doctor was not employed at the Zhelezara polyclinic, but in a private practice under a concession. 

The Ministry of Interior (MoI) said earlier that a doctor was found dead with multiple stab wounds at a parking lot in front of the Zhelezara polyclinic late Thursday. According to the report, he was found by his sons, who started looking for him after he did not return home from work.

Photo: MIA archive