Deaths in private clinics and lack of regulator's response: "Odrex case" as a verdict on the system

The Ukrainian state does not provide adequate protection for patients treated in private medical institutions. Often, the Ministry of Health, as a regulator, reacts only after a tragedy has occurred, instead of trying to prevent it. This was stated by political expert Mykhailo Shnaider, drawing attention to a number of fatal cases in private medical institutions and the high-profile story surrounding the scandalous Odesa clinic Odrex, UNN writes.

According to him, in recent years, patient deaths in private medical institutions have been recorded in Ukraine. In particular, a woman died in a private clinic in the capital during plastic surgery due to an incorrectly calculated dosage of anesthetic. Children also died during dental interventions: a 7-year-old boy in Kyiv and a 12-year-old girl in Zakarpattia. In the Odrex clinic in Odesa, the well-known businessman Adnan Kivan died.

All these cases are the consequences of poor-quality medical care, non-compliance with protocols and standards that the state should control, and which expose a systemic problem.

As an example, he cites the scandal with the private clinic Odrex. Former patients of the medical institution and relatives of the clinic's victims publicly announced possible violations and crimes committed by representatives of "Odrex".

When dozens of patients talk about improper treatment, lack of communication, falsification of documentation, pressure, and possible fraud, the problem ceases to be a "local incident" and acquires systemic characteristics.

He also points out that private medicine in Ukraine is developing much faster than the mechanisms for controlling its quality and safety. Investments in marketing and service are often not accompanied by proper investments in clinical protocols, internal control, and transparency of medical services.

At the same time, Shnaider states insufficient control by the regulator - the Ministry of Health.

Formally, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine is responsible for licensing and control. A license is not just a piece of paper, but a document confirming the medical institution's compliance with personnel, technological, and organizational requirements, as well as the obligation to constantly adhere to standards. However, as practice shows: inspections are often a reaction, not a preventive measure; sanctions against violators are applied slowly and selectively, patients actually have no simple and clear mechanism for quick protection in case of a threat to their life or health. If a clinic can work for years with numerous complaints, and the issue of a license arises only after a public scandal - this only confirms the regulatory oversight of the Ministry of Health.

In his opinion, the story with Odrex has become a kind of test for the state and a mirror of the entire healthcare system. It raises questions not only about the availability of a license, but also about real control over the work of clinics after obtaining it: whether repeated incidents, including fatal ones, are analyzed, whether complaints are considered comprehensively, and whether the regulator has the political will to promptly respond to violations.

Currently, the "Odrex Case" is a mirror for the entire medical system, showing that the problem is not limited to one clinic. This is about the quality of state supervision, real patient protection, and the balance between the development of private medicine and people's safety. As long as these questions remain without clear answers, every Ukrainian in a private clinic is forced to rely not on the system, but on chance and hope for quality services.

Death of Adnan Kivan

The death of local businessman-developer Adnan Kivan within the walls of the medical institution became the impetus for the active public scandal with the "Odrex" clinic. It is known that from May to October 2024, he was undergoing treatment there. Following his death, 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).

Later it turned out that these were the head of the surgical department Vitaliy Rusakov and the oncologist Maryna Bielotserkovska, who was fired from Odrex almost immediately after Adnan Kivan's death. Investigators, based on the conclusions of the examination, believe that the actions of these two doctors led to the death of patient Adnan Kivan. The case has now been sent to court for consideration on the merits.

According to media reports, the accused surgeon did not prescribe antibiotics to the patient after the operation and ignored obvious symptoms of sepsis. In addition, according to journalists, the doctors performed a number of procedures that were contraindicated for the patient at that time. Among them, apparently, was chemotherapy, which was performed by oncologist Maryna Bielotserkovska.

Inspections and license revocation

It should be noted that at the end of 2025, the Ministry of Health revoked the license of "Dim Medytsyny" LLC - the company that owns the Odrex clinic. The reason was the administration's refusal to provide documents to the commission during an inspection related to the patient's death, which is a gross violation of licensing conditions.

Later, another unscheduled inspection took place, but this time of other legal entities associated with "Odrex". Unscheduled state supervision measures lasted from January 6 to 8 and concerned "Medical House "Odrex"" LLC and "Medical Center" LLC - companies that hold the medical licenses of the Odrex clinic. Both legal entities are involved in a number of criminal proceedings for alleged fraud, improper performance of professional duties by medical workers, embezzlement of patient funds, and intentional murder. According to the Prosecutor General's Office, as of today, law enforcement officers are investigating 10 criminal proceedings involving the "Odrex" clinic.

Given that the Ministry of Health has not yet published a decision based on the results of the inspection of companies associated with "Odrex", it can be concluded that there is an attempt to delay and cover up the problem.

It is interesting that in the scandal with this private clinic, we have a post-factum reaction from the regulator. Perhaps if "Odrex" had been inspected earlier, tragedies could have been avoided, because the clinic would have understood that they were under the control of the regulator.

Documentary film "Wasp's Nest"

The documentary film "Wasp's Nest" became a real exposé of "treatment" in the private Odesa clinic Odrex. For perhaps the first time, victims of Odrex and relatives of those who could not be saved after treatment in the Odesa clinic told their truth. In the hope of finding justice and protecting others.

One of those who was not afraid to tell her story is Svitlana Huk. The woman became a widow after her husband was admitted to "Odrex" with a thymoma. After a 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 cold as a freezer, and under the patient's blanket there 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 next day after it was performed, his condition significantly worsened. It turned out that his lungs were affected by 85%. Although the initial reason for contacting the clinic had nothing to do with lung problems. The doctors told his wife that her husband had been infected with the bacterium Serratia marcescens, which spreads through dirty hands or unsterile equipment. Adding that anything can be caught in intensive care. The man's condition worsened, 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" - 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 cancer diagnosis and turned to "Feofaniya". The medical council concluded that aggressive chemotherapy was contraindicated for him before surgery. However, surgeon Ihor Bielotserkovsky, who was also on the council, suggested treatment at the Odesa "Odrex", where his wife, oncologist Maryna Bielotserkovska, works. He assured the desperate daughter that in the Odesa clinic her father's "larynx and voice would be saved". Before the trip, the family was forced to pay for a consultation in advance, without an examination, which already raised doubts.

In "Odrex", the father was prescribed a five-day course of aggressive chemotherapy, and a second one was immediately planned. The man had a gastrostomy installed, 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, the father's condition sharply worsened: his kidneys failed, and an ulcer appeared in his mouth. 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 thousand hryvnias, but the father died. Khrystyna is convinced that the prescription of aggressive chemotherapy contrary to the recommendations of other doctors was a fatal mistake of "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 all of them 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 in 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 work of the "Odrex" clinic. Where the main goal, it seems, is not to help the patient, but to make money.