Shocked Customers, Journalists Bring Down Corrupt Hospital Leader

The Board of the North Estonian Medical Center (NEMC) decided today to terminate the contract of the head of its follow-up and nursing care center, Dr. Andres Peri, after the investigative TV program "Eyewitness" revealed widespread misconduct at the center in Keila.

The affair started in April, when "Eyewitness" aired a piece on the abysmal conditions at the Keila follow-up and nursing care center. Undercover footage taken at the hospital revealed abysmal treatment conditions, hostile interactions with the hospital staff and probable malpractice. The program also raised allegations of bribery by the head of the center, Dr. Andres Peri. Dr. Peri had previously been convicted for accepting bribes in exchange for helping new recruits dodge Estonia's compulsory military service, and, after serving his sentence of two months of real jail time, was promoted to head of the center.

Following the "Eyewitness" report, hundreds of patients and family members with similar experiences wrote to "Eyewitness" and the Estonian Patient Advocacy Association. NEMC commissioned an internal investigation to determine whether a case of malpractice had occurred at the nursing center. Last week, "Eyewitness" aired another report, detailing similar experiences by five families. On Friday, the NEMC Board decided to extend the deadline for its internal investigation, to include new complaints reported by "Eyewitness" and the Patients' Association. 

Today NEMC reported that based on the preliminary results of the investigation, the contract of Andres Peri has been terminated. The final report of the investigation will be given on May 19th

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