The voices of those who consider themselves victims of the private clinic Odrex are growing louder. Former patients and relatives of the deceased are no longer afraid to tell their truth. Every day, more stories emerge, and people's testimonies about possible violations at Odrex cast even greater doubt on the quality of medical services provided at the medical facility. Will the state be able to protect Ukrainian patients and find justice - read in the UNN material.
When a patient turns to a private clinic, they expect a high level of service and truly progressive medical care. After all, it's no secret that comprehensive treatment of diseases in private medical institutions can cost hundreds of thousands of hryvnias. But, unfortunately, expensive does not always mean high quality. The stories of dozens of patients who underwent treatment at the Odesa clinic "Odrex" can serve as a vivid confirmation of this. Former patients and relatives of those who were treated at the clinic talk about alleged facts of falsification of medical documentation, extortion of money, as well as recurring errors during patient treatment, which gives grounds to speak of systemic problems at "Odrex."
Against the backdrop of numerous complaints and horrifying stories from former Odrex patients, the Ministry of Health must conduct an unscheduled comprehensive inspection of all Odrex LLCs associated with the clinic that hold medical licenses issued by the regulator. This was stated in an exclusive comment for UNN by People's Deputy of Ukraine Mykhailo Tsymbalyuk.
This is a licensed activity, the right to which is granted by the Ministry of Health - they should definitely conduct their own inspection. And it is very important that this inspection is conducted not based on medical professional corporatism, but objectively. The fact that the state allows private business to work in the field of medicine is positive, because in most European countries and the United States, the private sector of medical services prevails. But when it comes to the life and health of a patient, which is guaranteed by Ukraine as a state in the Constitution - here state bodies must react to such facts, and every fact of a patient's death in clinics, both state and private, must be considered in accordance with the law
How "Odrex" changes legal entities and operates under different licenses
Currently, Odex clinic provides medical services based on a license issued by the Ministry of Health back in 2012 to LLC "Medical Center," as evidenced by the clinic's official website. And this is despite the fact that the clinic currently has at least two other licenses for other LLCs. Read more about how the clinic changes legal entities in the UNN investigation.
So, while the Ministry of Health is checking the compliance with licensing conditions of LLC "Dim Medytsyny," which is involved in criminal proceedings regarding the death of clinic patient Adnan Kivan, the medical institution continues to operate under a different LLC and license, which has not been checked by the regulator. People's Deputy Mykhailo Tsymbalyuk believes that in this case, the law will protect the affected patients, and no matter how the clinic disguised itself legally, they will still have to answer for their actions.
This will not protect them from punishment. This is their legal right, but the main thing is that there should be no manipulation here. I think that if there was a criminal offense, it will not protect them, no matter what kind of activity they were engaged in, wherever they were - they will have to answer the questions of investigators or the court.
Are there sufficient grounds to revoke the license of the private clinic "Odrex"?
A similar opinion is held by Danylo Tryasov, an attorney at Law "Leshchenko & partners". In a comment to UNN, he emphasized that the Ministry of Health has the right to conduct an unscheduled inspection of a private clinic even during martial law, if there are grounds to believe that systematic violations of legislation and licensing requirements are occurring there. And mass complaints from patients, who detail facts of possible violations, should become a significant reason for the Ministry of Health.
At the same time, he warns that the Ministry of Health may formally refer to Resolution No. 303, refusing to conduct an inspection, but this does not mean that the inspection cannot be initiated again.
In case of refusal, we recommend submitting a complaint to the Ministry of Health with documentary confirmation of the existence of a threat that has a negative impact on rights, legitimate interests, life and health, which is directly related to the economic activity of medical practice carried out by the specified licensee.
According to Danylo Tryasov, if the clinic does not eliminate the violations recorded during the unscheduled inspection, it could be grounds for revoking its license. In this way, the state can not only record formal violations but also genuinely eliminate the threat to patients and prevent such violations from recurring.
Horrifying stories of victims of "treatment" at Odrex
One of the most resonant cases is the death of Odesa developer Adnan Kivan, who was undergoing treatment at Odrex. Criminal proceedings have been opened regarding his death, and two doctors of the clinic have already been notified of suspicion. They are accused of improper performance of professional duties, which led to the patient's death.
This case became the impetus for other families to unite and openly talk about their own experience of treatment at the clinic. The public outcry was so significant that a documentary film "Wasp's Nest" was released on YouTube, which collected stories of Odrex patients who, according to them, faced severe complications and indifference or negligence of medical personnel.
One such story was that of Svitlana Huk. In 2019, she brought her husband to Odrex with a thymus tumor, hoping for a safe operation and a quick recovery. But instead of the minimally invasive intervention they expected, as the woman said, the doctors performed a full thoracotomy. Her husband's condition sharply worsened, he was connected to an artificial kidney machine, and Svitlana herself, according to her, was literally bombarded with daily demands to pay tens of thousands of hryvnias for treatment.
While her husband was fighting for his life, the clinic, the woman says, showed more interest in payments than in explanations. The most painful blow was the suspicion that her husband, after his actual death, might have been kept on life support just to continue accruing funds – after which the widow was sued, demanding payment of a "debt" of almost a million hryvnias, despite the fact that she had already paid more than 42 thousand dollars.
No less horrifying is the story of Volodymyr, who says he came to the clinic only with weakness – and suddenly found himself on the operating table after doctors declared a "critical condition." The very next day, his wife Iryna was informed of 85% lung damage, which required Volodymyr to be put into a medically induced coma. After several weeks in intensive care, during which the man lost about 15 kg, the clinic found the nosocomial bacterium Serratia marcescens in his body – a pathogen that is not found outside medical facilities and is a sign of sterility violation. Despite this, there was no mention of the infection in the anamnesis, says Volodymyr's wife. And when the family could no longer pay, according to Iryna, the doctors unceremoniously stated: "If there is no money, we will turn off the lights."
Khrystyna Totkailo also told her truth in the film. Her father became an Odrex patient after a surgeon's recommendations, who assured the family of the clinic's "unique capabilities." In Kyiv, doctors insisted that aggressive chemotherapy was contraindicated for Khrystyna's father, but in Odesa, the family was convinced otherwise. And a course was conducted that ended in severe complications. According to Khrystyna, Odrex doctors ignored requests to examine her father and replied that it was a weekend, call on Monday. After returning to Kyiv, her father's condition rapidly worsened and he died. The family paid over 250,000 hryvnias for his treatment.
Kateryna Boichuk went through a similar path, who, along with her mother, turned to Odrex with faith in "the best private medicine." The leg amputation surgery cost about 240,000 hryvnias, but, as Kateryna says, already on the second day after the intervention, the woman's condition worsened. Diagnoses changed every few days, and at night the family was called to the clinic, reporting new "complications," including a sudden bowel perforation. When the family asked to transfer the patient to a state hospital, doctors stated that she was "untransportable," while the cost of staying at "Odrex" exceeded 1,000 dollars per day. Three weeks later, the woman died, and her daughter admits: faith in a "prestigious clinic" was a fatal mistake.
The story of Olha Melai ended no less tragically. Her husband underwent chemotherapy and was supposed to have a subcutaneous port installed – a procedure that Odrex advertised as quick and safe. After the operation, he was immediately transferred to intensive care in critical condition. On the first day, according to Olha, doctors drained five liters of fluid from his chest. Despite obvious risks, the doctors, as the woman claims, continued the next course of chemotherapy, and her husband did not survive. What struck Olha most was that there was no mention of the operation itself or its consequences in the discharge summary. The family paid the Odrex clinic over 2.5 million hryvnias.
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