Health Ministry picks new head of Mother&Child Center

The Ministry of Health has appointed Dr. Stefan Gatcan as head of the Chisinau-based specialized medical complex known as the Mother&Child Center. The post fell vacant when Dr. Ion Iliciuc was dismissed following the Maturinol scandal, Info-Prim Neo reports. Ministry spokesperson Marina Berzedean said Dr. Stefan Gatcan, a gynecologist who formerly ran a private clinic, was selected from among three candidates including himself. Dr. Ion Iliciuc was sacked by Health Minister Andrei Usatyi for alleged mismanagement of the Center's funds, compounded by patients' complaints and a scandal around the administration of an unauthorized drug called Maturinol, which Iliciuc invented. Since October 2011, Dr. Marin Rotaru served as caretaker of the Center.