Board chairperson of National Rehabilitation Centre Vaivari (NRC) Anda Nulle has decided to sue the Ministry of Health for defamation. She accuses the ministry of spreading fake and misleading information during the period of her suspension.
«I do this because if a person has power or a sense of impunity, and they decide to spread fake and misleading information, they will keep doing this. It’s a wrong signal to society and my colleagues,» Nulle explained about her decision. She has turned to court over defamation and spread of false and misleading information by the Ministry of Health. According to Nulle, the ministry reported false information to the media.
During an emergency meeting of NRC Vaivari members last autumn it was decided to dismiss Nulle from her post due to loss of trust. As the media were told by the ministry’s state secretary Indra Dreika, Nulla cannot continue working in the interest of the rehabilitation centre because of a conflict of interests. The state capital association, on the other hand, works not in its own interests or its goals. Rather the institution plans its operations in accordance with the interests of its personnel.
Nulle said that during the period of her suspension she had to actively communicate with foreign colleagues and discuss reasons for her suspension, as well as the information reported by the media about it. According to her,
she received calls from European and Ukrainian colleagues with which the centre had different projects.
These people, according to her, were confused as to why she suddenly turned into a person who was made into someone bad.
«This is unacceptable – for a state institution to spread misleading information. It is also important to demonstrate to colleagues, other doctors, especially young ones, that this is not normal and officials should not be allowed to act with impunity,» explained Nulle.
Latvian Medical Association (LAB) previously turned to the president, prime minister and minister of health over this situation, stressing that:
it is unacceptable for the Ministry of health to prepare announcements containing false information that undermine a capable candidate’s reputation,
to create a justifiable reason to have her excluded from the personnel selection process for the post of NRC Vaivari board chairman and board members.
«The duty of the state and its institutions is making sure medical institutions in Latvia are managed by professionals with appropriate education and experience, especially in emergency situations, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, and now – a period in which there is an acute shortage of healthcare specialists,» as mentioned in the letter from LAB.
In its open letter, LAT notes that the statement from the Ministry of Health included information that served as the reason for Nulle’s dismissal. The doctor has asked the court to declare this information false and defamatory. The court accepted her application. This means there is a risk of a legal dispute over information listed in the ministry’s statement. LAB promises to follow the development carefully.
LAB reminds that the ministry justified its sudden decision to dismiss Nulle with a possible conflict of interests even though the doctor complied with all instructions from the ministry and KNAB. Concerns about this being a political decision comes from the fact that it was made in a time when Latvia was in the middle of forming a new government.