The Primorsky District Court of Odesa extended the pre-trial detention measures in the form of night house arrest for Vitaliy Rusakov, head of the surgical department, and Maryna Bielotserkovska, a former oncologist at the scandalous private clinic "Odrex," who are accused of improper performance of professional duties that led to the death of a patient, UNN writes.
At the hearing, which took place on Tuesday, January 28, Mykola Orekhovsky, Rusakov's lawyer, petitioned for the recusal of the prosecutor, but the court denied the petition.
At the same time, the prosecution filed a motion to extend the pre-trial detention period for the accused Rusakov and Bielotserkovska for another two months. In addition, the prosecutor petitioned to extend Rusakov's suspension from the position of head of surgery. The court granted the motion.
The continuation of the preparatory hearing, at which the issue of scheduling the indictment for consideration on the merits will be decided, is scheduled for February 16.
Death of Adnan Kivan
The death of local businessman-developer Adnan Kivan within the walls of the "Odrex" clinic became the impetus for the beginning of an active public scandal with the clinic. It is known that he was undergoing treatment there in May-October 2024. Following his death, two doctors were notified of suspicion of improper performance of professional duties that led to the death of a patient (Part 1 of Article 140 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
It was later revealed that these were Vitaliy Rusakov, head of the surgical department, and Maryna Bielotserkovska, an oncologist who was fired from Odrex almost immediately after Adnan Kivan's death. Investigators, based on the conclusions of the examination, believe that the actions of these two doctors led to the death of patient Adnan Kivan.
According to media reports, the accused surgeon did not prescribe antibiotics to the patient after the operation and ignored obvious symptoms of sepsis. In addition, according to journalists, the doctors performed a number of procedures that were contraindicated for the patient at that time. Among them, apparently, was chemotherapy performed by oncologist Maryna Bielotserkovska. Almost immediately after the public scandal erupted, "Odrex" fired Bielotserkovska.
Documentary film "Wasp's Nest"
The documentary film "Wasp's Nest" became a real exposé of "treatment" at the private Odesa clinic Odrex. For perhaps the first time, victims of Odrex and relatives of those who could not be saved after treatment at the Odesa clinic told their truth. In the hope of finding justice and protecting others.
One of those who was not afraid to tell her story is Svitlana Huk. The woman became a widow after her husband was admitted to "Odrex" with a thymoma. After a promised "easy operation," he underwent a full thoracotomy, followed by complications, an "artificial kidney" machine, and daily bills of 80-90 thousand UAH. The most shocking part of the Huk family's story was Svitlana's account of how she came to her husband's ward – it was as cold as a freezer, and there was a heater under the patient's blanket. As the widow herself says, Odrex continued to keep her husband's body on life support after clinical death only to issue a larger bill, because staying in a private clinic is charged daily. Her husband died, and when Svitlana could not pay for her husband's death, the clinic sued her, simultaneously threatening her. As the widow says, the pressure was so strong that she even thought about suicide.
Volodymyr, another patient, came to "Odrex" for surgery. However, the next day after the operation, his condition significantly worsened. It turned out that his lungs were affected by 85%. Although the initial reason for seeking treatment at the clinic had nothing to do with lung problems. Doctors told his wife that her husband had been infected with the bacterium Serratia marcescens, which spreads through dirty hands or non-sterile equipment. Adding that anything can be caught in intensive care. The man was getting worse, he could barely breathe, so he was put into a medical coma. Keeping a patient on life support is expensive, so eventually the family ran out of money. In response, Volodymyr's wife heard a proposal from the clinic's doctors to "turn off the lights" – to disconnect her husband from life support and accept that he could not be saved. Volodymyr miraculously survived, leaving the clinic with ruined health and significant weight loss. There was no mention of infection in the clinic in the discharge summary.
Kyivan Khrystyna Totkailo learned about her father's cancer diagnosis and turned to "Feofaniya." The medical council concluded that aggressive chemotherapy was contraindicated before surgery. However, surgeon Ihor Bielotserkovsky, who was also on the council, suggested treatment at Odesa's "Odrex," where his wife, oncologist Maryna Bielotserkovska, works. He assured the desperate daughter that in the Odesa clinic, her father's "larynx and voice would be saved." Before the trip, the family was forced to pay for a consultation in advance, without an examination, which already raised doubts.
At "Odrex," the father was prescribed a five-day course of aggressive chemotherapy, and a second one was immediately planned. A gastrostomy was installed for the man, which required daily care, but, according to Khrystyna, the doctors practically did not examine it. By the time of discharge, there was already a through hole at the installation site, through which food leaked.
After returning to Kyiv, the father's condition sharply worsened: kidney failure, ulcers in the mouth appeared. To reports of critical symptoms, the doctor from "Odrex" replied that today was a day off, all questions – on Monday. The family paid more than 250 thousand hryvnias, but the father died. Khrystyna is convinced that the prescription of aggressive chemotherapy contrary to the recommendations of other doctors was a fatal mistake of "Odrex."
These stories are only a small part of what is shown in the documentary film "Wasp's Nest." In fact, there are many more testimonies, and all of them describe the same patterns: aggressive financial pressure, neglect of treatment protocols, lack of proper control, and cases that ended in severe complications or death. The film contains testimonies of those affected by "treatment" at Odrex. Law enforcement agencies, as well as the Ministry of Health, cannot ignore them. The scale of these stories indicates that the problem is not with individual doctors, but with the operating system of the "Odrex" clinic. Where the main goal, it seems, is not to help the patient, but to make money.
It should be noted that during the press conference, representatives of "Odrex" stated that the clinic is not responsible for the actions of doctors.