No official reason has been given yet for Kõrgvee's departure, while, AK reported, the hospital seems at a glance to be functioning well.

Kõrgvee himself says the decision is political and that doctors may leave the hospital with him as an expression of solidarity, adding that he would include Russian-speaking doctors who had learned better Estonian over the past three years, on top of improvements to their skills and knowledge in medicine.

Reform Party MP Karmen Joller, a member of the Riigikogu's Social Committee and a medical doctor herself, called for establishing whether the allegations over Narva Hospital have a basis in fact.

"To the ordinary person, for example, €20,000 or €30,000 may seem like a large sum of money," she said, hinting at where some of the issues lie.

"However it is a small amount from a hospital viewpoint," Joller went on. "This [money] has also been pressed into use to ensure better medical care for Narva residents, so I think that charges like this [against Kõrgvee] are not appropriate," the MP added.

Hospital board chair Aleksei Jevgrafov gave no comment on specific charges levied against Kõrgvee ahead of a meeting on the matter scheduled for Thursday evening.

The new hospital board is reported to be unhappy with how the hospital manager is spending funds, however.

Ago Kõrgvee had headed up the Narva hospital for almost three years and as noted says he had attempted to transform it into a medical institution which speaks Estonian fully, in the majority Russian-speaking town, and operates along the lines of modern European concepts.

The hospital's budget remained in the black last year, while a new building is planned for the coming year.

Mayor of Narva Jaan Toots (Center) told AK that Kõrgvee's dismissal lies within the competence of the hospital board, and that while he will be attending Thursday's board meeting, he will only be doing so as an observer.

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