The Prosecutor General's Office has appealed to the Ministry of Health with a demand to conduct an inspection and revoke the license of the scandalous Odesa clinic "Odrex" due to violations, after treatment at which businessman-developer Adnan Kivan died. This was reported by the PGO in response to a request from UNN.
Details
The Prosecutor General's Office noted that during the investigation, a conclusion of the clinical and expert assessment of the quality of medical care from the Department of Health of the Odesa Regional State Administration was obtained, according to which, among other things, facts of non-compliance by the "Odrex" clinic with legal requirements when appointing doctors, maintaining medical documentation in violation of the orders of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine were established.
In this regard, the Prosecutor General's Office sent an application to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine for an unscheduled state supervision (control) measure regarding the compliance of the business entity LLC "Dim Medytsyny" (MD "ODREX") with the requirements of legislation in the field of economic activity for medical practice subject to licensing, the results of which, and in case of detection of relevant violations, will decide on the termination of the license
It should be noted that the CEO of "Odrex", Tigran Arutyunyan, in July 2023 joined the working group on strengthening the role of private healthcare facilities in the restoration and development of the healthcare system. It was headed by the Minister of Health, Viktor Liashko.
Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that the CEO of "Odrex" may use his connections and enlist the support of the head of the Ministry of Health to preserve the medical institution's license through the illegal influence of Viktor Liashko.
Recall
The scandal with the Odrex clinic became public after another death. The Prosecutor General's Office announced on October 25 that the Main Investigative Department of the National Police is investigating the circumstances of a patient's death after treatment at a medical institution in Odesa.
According to media reports, this refers to the death of local businessman-developer Adnan Kivan, who was treated at the "Odrex" clinic from May to 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, Article 140 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). It was later revealed that these were Vitaliy Rusakov, head of the surgical department, and Maryna Bielotserkivska, an oncologist.
Investigators, based on the conclusions of the examination, believe that the actions of these two doctors caused 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 no necessary measures were 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 investigation believes that during the provision of medical care, the doctors made significant mistakes, as a result of which the patient developed sepsis, which, against the background of the oncological process, led to death.
According to UNN sources, surgeon Viktor Rusakov did not prescribe antibiotics to the patient after the operation and subsequently ignored obvious symptoms of sepsis. In addition, doctors performed a number of procedures that were contraindicated for the patient at that time.
The businessman died at the clinic on October 27, 2024.
The clinic, however, insists that their doctors are highly qualified specialists and act according to protocols.
At the same time, the Ministry of Health has not yet conducted an inspection of the compliance of the "Odrex" clinic's activities with licensing conditions and has not revoked the medical institution's license.
Add
After Adnan Kivan's death, stories of patients at the Odesa clinic "Odrex" began to emerge one after another – people decided not to remain silent anymore. Those who for years were afraid to speak publicly are now daring to tell stories about how treatment at "Odrex" turned into abuse, professional help into dangerous experiments, and medicine into a cold financial calculation to "extract the last" from the patient's family. In the documentary film "Wasp's Nest," relatives of affected and deceased patients tell about their experiences.
One of them is Svitlana Huk, whose husband died in "Odrex". While he was in intensive care, the clinic, according to her, issued bills for 80-90 thousand hryvnias daily. The woman suspects that her husband might have been kept on life support even after clinical death – but not to save him, but to continue issuing bills. When the woman could no longer pay, she was directly offered to hand over the documents for her apartment so that the clinic's lawyers could quickly sell it. After her husband's death, the clinic did not stop and sued her, demanding an additional 900 thousand hryvnias.
Another patient, Volodymyr, came to "Odrex" for an operation, during which he was likely infected with the bacterium Serratia Marcescens. This bacterium is transmitted through dirty hands or instruments. The clinic did not deny this, stating that "this is intensive care – you can catch anything here." Such a response may indicate that the staff understands that the intensive care unit in the clinic does not meet the stated standards, is not sterile, and that this is a systemic problem, not a one-time incident. The infection affected 85% of Volodymyr's lungs, he was put into a medical coma, and he lost 15 kg. Volodymyr's wife still repeats that her husband "miraculously survived after this treatment."
Khrystyna Totkailo tells about her father, who, at the insistence of "Odrex" doctors, was prescribed aggressive chemotherapy, despite the warnings of Kyiv specialists. She recalls promises that "they would save his voice and larynx," and how her father returned home with virtually no chance of survival. Aggressive treatment, in her opinion, not only did not help – it broke him.
Kateryna Boichuk recalls sending her mother to a "expensive clinic with a good reputation," and three weeks later picking up her body. Her mother underwent surgery, but the doctors, according to Kateryna, could never determine a diagnosis. Daily calls at night, confused explanations, endless sums in bills – and death. Kateryna says: "I trusted these doctors, and now I wouldn't even trust them with a cold prescription."
All these stories with different diagnoses, different circumstances, different people have one common feature – the feeling that patients' lives in "Odrex" are valued much less than the money that can be obtained for "treatment." Victims and families of the deceased speak of medical errors, negligence, cynicism, but above all – of the absence of elementary humanity.
While the investigation continues, more and more people are coming forward with new stories. And each of them sounds like new evidence that the problem is much deeper than individual doctors. The problem, it seems, lies in the very structure of the "Odrex" clinic, which allows such an attitude towards people, their health, and their lives.