Dismissed physician to appeal decision in court

PanARMENIAN.Net - Two months after a heated exchange with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during the election campaign, Arpine Soghoyan, head of the Women's Consultation Department at the Zeytun Polyclinic of the Kanaker-Zeytun Health Center, who was dismissed from her job, will challenge the decision in court.

She has received the director's official notice of dismissal, RFE/RL reports.

"Had it not been for the events of 2020, perhaps I would have taken it much harder. But after losing my homeland, that part of me has become numb. As for the job, I feel almost nothing—just emptiness," she said.

Soghoyan is convinced that the notice she received is directly linked to her political views and her dispute with the prime minister.

"There had been several occasions before. Half-jokingly, I said, 'I'm not resigning—if you want, dismiss me.' Today we officially received the notice," the physician said.

Following the incident, Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan was quick to reject suggestions that the doctor could lose her job because of her political views. However, two months later, she was among those dismissed as part of staff reductions carried out by the Yerevan Municipality, despite being widely known for her opposition views.

The Yerevan Municipality's press service said the staff cuts are related to the introduction of the mandatory health insurance system. According to the explanation, several positions, including gynecologists' posts, have been eliminated in healthcare institutions under the municipality's authority. It was also stated that maintaining additional positions, including the department head's role, creates an extra financial burden that is not eligible for reimbursement. The municipality added that the process had begun back in January.

While municipal officials stressed that deputy directors for medical affairs could handle all patients' issues, Soghoyan presented the dismissal notice she had received and argued that she did not find the justification logical.

According to the notice, no alternative position could be offered to the experienced physician because of her health condition. Soghoyan, however, insisted that she has no health problems and has never missed work due to illness. She also questioned why positions were being cut if the number of patients visiting the polyclinic had not declined. According to her, some patients are now treated under the universal insurance system rather than the state-funded program, meaning doctors' workloads have increased rather than decreased. After her position is eliminated, more than 10,000 women will be served by three physicians.

Vardan Hakobyan, director of the Kanaker-Zeytun Health Center, who sent Soghoyan the dismissal notice, declined to answer RFE/RL's questions, saying he had not received permission from the higher authority, the municipality.

The gynecologist, who had worked at the same health center for more than 21 years, met Pashinyan during the election campaign, asking about the fate of her brother, who went missing during the 2020 war, and others, while also criticizing the prime minister. During the exchange, Pashinyan became visibly agitated and attempted to associate the doctor with opposition figures, further escalating the confrontation.