On August 4, a patient died at Bila Tserkva City Hospital No. 2. According to his relatives, the man was given an incorrect diagnosis and did not receive proper medical care. The family is convinced that 48-year-old Ihor Yatelo died from leptospirosis, which doctors failed to identify in time. UNN spoke with the deceased man's daughter, Diana.
A story that began with a slight fever and ended in death
"Dad was given the wrong diagnosis and treated with water for two days," Diana says.
She is convinced that her father could have been saved if the necessary treatment had been started in time.
It all began with a low-grade fever that developed on the second day after he had spent time by a river.
"On July 26, he was relaxing by the river with my mother and sister. He did not swim; he was launching a little boat (feeding the fish — ed.), went in up to his knees, and that was all," Diana recounts.
A day after spending time by the river, Ihor Yatelo developed a fever, but everything seemed like an ordinary cold.
"At first, his temperature was around 37°C, but then his calves began to hurt. We contacted the family doctor, who issued him a sick leave certificate and sent him for tests," his daughter says.
But by that evening, the man's condition had worsened.
"In the evening he felt ill, and his blood pressure dropped. We called an ambulance and waited 40 minutes. An emergency medical team arrived. As it turned out later, these are different things, and according to the doctor, an ambulance comes only for those who are already dying. The emergency doctor offered a choice of two injections… At that moment, the test results arrived, and my mother showed them to him — he replied that he did not understand the tests and that there were no grounds to take Dad to the hospital," Diana describes the situation.
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By that time, Ihor Yatelo's test results indicated a critically high level of C-reactive protein and uric acid in the blood. The family decided to take the man to Bila Tserkva City Hospital No. 2.
There, according to his relatives, they encountered the absence of a doctor on duty and an indifferent attitude. Eventually, the man was admitted.
"We showed them the test results and described all the symptoms. They did not understand what was wrong with him and spent two hours making a diagnosis. They performed an X-ray, even though he had a fluorography scan from a couple of days earlier. At around one in the morning — it was already August 1 — they admitted him to the neurology department with a diagnosis of Guillain–Barré syndrome (a rare autoimmune disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the peripheral nerves — ed.) and started intravenous drips," Diana recounts.
The daughter shows photographs of the medications administered to her father. They show that Yatelo was given intravenous drips containing sodium chloride solution, paracetamol, and "Soda Buffer," apparently to reduce blood acidity. No other medications were administered at that time, and the treatment appears to have been purely symptomatic.
The relatives begged the doctors to conduct further examinations of the man, whose condition was rapidly deteriorating.
"Now Hruzynskyi says that we brought our father in a completely critical, terminal condition. Let them look at the surveillance cameras in the admissions department — he was still smiling, but his legs hurt badly, so I seated him in a wheelchair. But once he was in the hospital, he got worse, and they wasted time there," Diana recounts.
Eventually, additional examinations were carried out and a new diagnosis was made — kidney stones. By that time, the patient had developed jaundice and his abdomen had become enlarged. According to his relatives, they asked for an additional consultation with a specialist in the relevant field, but were told that this was not possible at the moment because it was the weekend. In general, the deceased man's family describes his entire stay in the hospital as a constant search for someone who could take responsibility for treating Ihor Yatelo: first the doctor on duty, then the head of the intensive care unit, a specialist in the relevant field, and the chief doctor. They insisted that the man might have had leptospirosis.
After the diagnosis was changed, Ihor Yatelo's condition continued to deteriorate; according to his relatives, he needed to be transferred to intensive care. But this happened only when the doctor on duty changed.
"On Sunday (August 2 — ed.) in the morning, a doctor comes in and says: ‘Why is he still here? He should be in intensive care. Why has no one sent him anywhere?’” Diana recounts.
She says that the doctor immediately suspected leptospirosis.
The next day, the family was informed of the man's death. Yatelo spent a total of a day and a half in the hospital, and judging by his relatives' account, they spent most of that time persuading the staff to conduct an appropriate examination and prescribe appropriate treatment.
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The hospital's position, the autopsy, and the criminal proceedings
The hospital denies that its staff acted negligently. General Director Oleksandr Hruzynskyi claims that Ihor Yatelo was brought to the hospital with critical vital signs that were practically incompatible with life, but at the same time insists that the man was not taken to intensive care because there were no indications for it. Hruzynskyi acknowledges that diagnostic errors do occur.
"There are errors in diagnosis. I am not saying that they should have diagnosed him correctly 100% of the time," Hruzynskyi says in a comment to Espresso.
He also rejects the family's claims that there was no doctor on duty. At the same time, the deceased man's daughter released a recording in which Hruzynskyi allegedly says that there is no doctor on duty on weekends.
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The relatives also reject the claims that the man had been treated at home for two weeks, since only eight days passed between his rest by the river and his death.
Based on the relatives' statement, criminal proceedings were initiated under Part 1 of Article 140 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — improper performance of professional duties by a medical or pharmaceutical worker, if this occurred through negligence and resulted in serious consequences for the patient. Notably, as part of these proceedings, a forensic medical examination was ordered, the conduct of which the hospital allegedly attempted to halt by interfering with the documentation.
The relatives are convinced that Ihor Yatelo became a victim of doctors' negligence and lack of professionalism. They are now awaiting the results of the forensic medical examination and are convinced that they are in the right.
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In lieu of conclusions
Unfortunately, Ukrainians are increasingly encountering medical negligence, which often causes tragic consequences. And this happens not only in state-run or municipal hospitals, but also in private institutions. In each specific case, the final word should belong to the court. But the families of deceased patients deserve justice and answers.
All photos — the Yatelo family