The scandal surrounding the Odesa clinic "Odrex" is escalating daily. It all started with a criminal case over the death of a clinic patient – developer Adnan Kivan. And it continued with new shocking stories of "treatment" at Odrex from other victims or families of those who can no longer tell their stories. All these stories are just the tip of the iceberg of a system that aims not to cure the patient, but to earn as much money as possible, writes UNN.
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.
The more carefully you listen to the stories, the more clearly the similarity emerges: regardless of the diagnosis or medical condition, every patient at "Odrex" fell into the clutches of the same scheme. First – optimistic prognoses and promises to "save." Then – new diagnoses, new procedures, a rapid deterioration of the condition. Next, phone calls with demands and threats, and then new and new stages of "treatment" for the patient, whose condition is rapidly worsening, for increasingly larger sums. And when there are no funds left, relatives face a lawsuit from the clinic and offers to pay for "treatment" with an apartment, car, or dacha.
One of those who was not afraid to tell her story was Svitlana Huk. The woman became a widow after her husband was admitted to "Odrex" with a thymoma. After the promised "easy operation," he underwent a full thoracotomy, and then complications began, 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 under the patient's blanket was a heater. 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 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 husband 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 light" – to disconnect her husband from the machines 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 oncological diagnosis and turned to "Feofaniya." A council of doctors 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 her father's "larynx and voice would be saved" at the Odesa clinic. Before the trip, the family was forced to pay for a consultation in advance, without an examination, which already raised doubts.
At "Odrex," her 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, her father's condition sharply deteriorated: his kidneys failed, and ulcers appeared in his mouth. In response to reports of critical symptoms, the doctor from "Odrex" replied that it was a day off today, all questions – on Monday. The family paid more than 250,000 hryvnias, but her father died. Khrystyna is convinced that the prescription of aggressive chemotherapy, contrary to the recommendations of other doctors, was a fatal mistake by "Odrex."
These stories are only a small part of what is shown in the documentary "Wasp's Nest." In fact, there are many more testimonies, and they all 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 system of the "Odrex" clinic. Where the main goal, it seems, is not to help the patient, but to make money.
Recall
The Prosecutor General's Office announced on October 25 that the Main Investigation Department of the National Police is investigating the circumstances of a patient's death after treatment at a medical facility in Odesa.
According to media reports, it concerns the death of local businessman-developer Adnan Kivan, who was treated at the "Odrex" clinic in May-October 2024. The PGO noted that two doctors were notified of suspicion of improper performance of professional duties, which caused the patient's death (Part 1 of Article 140 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
It later emerged that these were Vitaliy Rusakov, head of the surgical department, and oncologist Maryna Bielotserkovska, who was fired from Odrex almost immediately after Adnan Kivan's death. Investigators, based on expert conclusions, believe that the actions of these two doctors led to the patient's death.
The suspected doctors provided him with medical care. As evidenced by the commission forensic medical examination, during the provision of medical care, there was no proper response to signs of complications and necessary measures were not taken for its timely treatment. Experts concluded that medical error, improper performance of their professional duties by doctors due to negligent attitude towards them, are in a direct causal relationship with the patient's death.
The Ministry of Health has already begun checking the Odrex clinic's compliance with licensing conditions, and in case of violations, its license may be revoked. As reported by the Ministry of Health, in response to a request from the UNN editorial office, the inspection dates are November 25-26.