In Ukraine, there is a lack of clear procedures for accessing medical documentation, independent examinations, transparent mechanisms for evaluating medical care, and a lack of balance of responsibility between the doctor, the institution, and the owners. This opinion was expressed in an exclusive comment to UNN by Oksana Dmitrieva, Deputy Head of the Committee on National Health, Medical Care, and Medical Insurance. She added that she is working on a draft of relevant legislative changes.
The Ministry of Health revoked one of the licenses of the scandalous private clinic "Odrex" in Odesa after it refused to provide medical documentation to the Ministry of Health commission. The license was taken from LLC "Dim Medytsyny" (House of Medicine), which is involved in a criminal proceeding regarding the death of a patient due to improper medical care. However, "Odrex" continues to operate, as the clinic was re-registered to a new legal entity in the summer, and the medical institution has at least two more licenses. Despite numerous stories from relatives of the clinic's victims, the Ministry of Health is not rushing to inspect all legal entities associated with "Odrex."
Separate high-profile situations in medicine once again show that we need clear, predictable, and unified rules that simultaneously protect both the patient and the doctor. When conflicts arise, society wants to understand: whether quality care was provided, whether the investigation was conducted correctly, who is responsible, and what conclusions will be drawn. But today, Ukrainian legislation lacks mechanisms that ensure transparency and fairness in such cases.
According to her, Ukrainian legislation does not contain a clear definition of what a medical incident is, in which cases it is about criminal negligence, and when it is about a clinical error that requires expert review, not a punitive reaction.
The medical industry today operates in conditions of war, overwork, and a personnel crisis. That is why it is important to create a transparent, professional, and humane response mechanism – one that exists in many countries: independent clinical commissions, clear criteria for responsibility, an algorithm of actions in case of a medical incident, early patient notification.
She added that she would raise these issues at a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Health.
Colleagues supported the approach, and I have already started working on the relevant legislative solution. This involves creating clear procedures for accessing medical documentation, independent examinations, transparent mechanisms for evaluating medical care, and a balance of responsibility between the doctor, the institution, and the owners.
According to her, the goal of the legislative changes is to build a system that simultaneously protects patients' rights, ensures a fair and professional evaluation of doctors' actions, minimizes unjustified criminalization of medical practice, and fosters a culture of patient safety and honesty in medical institutions.
We must take this step – and move from reacting to scandals – to a systemic solution that will serve both people and the medical community.
Criminal case due to the death of a businessman
The Prosecutor General's Office reported 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 and 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 led to the patient's death (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. The investigation, based on expert conclusions, believes that the medical staff made significant mistakes in providing medical care, 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, the doctors performed a number of procedures that were contraindicated for the patient at that time. The businessman died in the clinic on October 27, 2024.
Suspects Maryna Bielotserkovska and Viktor Rusakov are under night house arrest and are required to wear an electronic bracelet. "Odrex" insists that their doctors are highly qualified specialists and act according to protocols. It should be noted that Maryna Bielotserkovska was dismissed from the clinic less than a month after Adnan Kivan's death.
The number of victims of "Odrex" doctors is increasing
After Adnan Kivan's death, stories of patients of 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 injured 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, billed 80-90 thousand hryvnias daily. The woman suspects that her husband might have been kept on life support even after clinical death – but not for salvation, but to continue billing. 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 clinic's intensive care unit 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 of weight. Volodymyr's wife still repeats that her husband "miraculously survived after this treatment."
Khrystyna Totkailo talks about her father, who, at the insistence of "Odrex" doctors, was prescribed aggressive chemotherapy, despite warnings from 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. The aggressive treatment, in her opinion, not only did not help – it broke him.
Kateryna Boichuk recalls how she sent her mother to an "expensive clinic with a good reputation," and three weeks later picked 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."