Director General of Okhmatdyt suspended from his duties - Ministry of Health

Volodymyr Zhovnir, CEO of the Okhmatdyt children's hospital, has been suspended from his duties until the inspections are completed. This was announced by Health Minister Viktor Lyashko on his Facebook page, UNN reports.

"Volodymyr Zhovnir, General Director of the National Specialized Hospital Okhmatdyt, has been suspended from his duties until the inspections by the National Police of Ukraine, other law enforcement agencies and the Health Ministry commission are completed. We will inform you about further decisions, including personnel ones. My position is that the acting head of the department should be a person from among the heads of departments who will receive the greatest support from colleagues," Lyashko writes.

He noted that the facts related to the restoration of the Okhmatdyt buildings and the activities of the Okhmatdyt - Healthy Childhood Charitable Foundation, including those covered by the media, are currently being investigated by the National Police of Ukraine at his request. The relevant criminal proceedings have been registered, and the pre-trial investigation is ongoing. The NABU is also conducting analytical work on this issue. In addition, at its initiative, the Ministry of Health is conducting an internal audit.

"All circumstances must be established. All those responsible must be punished. The hospital must be rebuilt. Everything must happen clearly, transparently, quickly and in accordance with the law," he writes.

Mr. Lyashko said that yesterday he received the first results of the inspection by the Health Ministry commission. There were cases of distortion of key information submitted officially to the Ministry of Health, to the media and contained in documents by both the hospital management and the Foundation.

Two working bodies were involved in the evaluation of the bids submitted during the tender: the Okhmatdyt working group, approved by the order of the Okhmatdyt General Director No. 142 dated 18.07.2024, and the general meeting of the Foundation.

The Okhmatdyt Working Group includes the following:

Serhiy Chernyshuk, Medical Director of Okhmatdyt

Vladislav Babak, Head of the Engineering Department at Okhmatdyt

Tatiana Ivanova, Medical Director for Medical Affairs at Okhmatdyt

Volodymyr Sova, medical director for outpatient work at Okhmatdyt

Oleg Polozenko, Deputy General Director for Development of Okhmatdet

Oleksandr Malimon, Head of Legal Department at Okhmatdyt

Oleh Smychenko, civil engineer at the Okhmatdyt Center for Engineering and Technical Support

Inna Gasiy, project manager of the Okhmatdyt Charitable Foundation - Healthy Childhood, a charitable organization.

Olena Shadura, 1st category economist at Okhmatdet

On July 25, at a regular meeting of the Okhmatdyt Working Group, the participants decided to request additional information from the Foundation about the participating companies.

Decisions on behalf of the Charitable Organization "Okhmatdyt Charitable Foundation - Healthy Childhood", recorded in the minutes, were made at the general meeting of participants in the following composition:

Yuriy Gorbunov

Solomiya Vitvitska

Olena Prymak

Yevhen Vember

Svitlana Rozborska

Lyashko points out that on July 31, the decision of the general meeting of the Foundation recommended that Okhmatdyt conclude a contract for the repair of the damaged modern hospital building with an already known company, which was recorded in the minutes.

"The decision to announce the company as the winner of the tender was made by Volodymyr Zhovnir, CEO of Okhmatdyt, and the public was informed about it on the hospital's official website.

At the same time, according to the information that became known during the inspection of the Ministry of Health, the Working Group did not receive recommendations on the final selection of the winner from Okhmatdyt. Why? This question remains open and will be investigated by the competent authorities.

I would also like to note that the hospital director suggested raising funds to the Foundation's account after the attack on Okhmatdyt on July 8, citing the successful experience of cooperation," he adds.

The Minister of Health noted that the Ministry of Health is adhering to the previously announced plan, according to which all further processes of restoring Okhmatdyt will be supervised by the Recovery Council. It already includes representatives of international organizations and companies that have made the largest donations.

Today, a meeting will be held to select 7 members from the public, after which the 15-member Board will be finally formed.

"I am asking the Recovery Council to meet this Monday to consider the phased recovery plan for Okhmatdyt and provide its recommendations for further actions. I would like to remind you that all the Council's decisions are public and published on the Ministry of Health resources.

I also invite the participants of the General Meeting of the Fund to the meeting to agree on the mechanisms for observing open and transparent procedures for the use of the funds raised under the supervision of the Recovery Council, including the prompt fulfillment of their promise to transfer funds from the Fund's account to the hospital's treasury account to comply with the requirements of public procurement legislation," he emphasized.

Recall

Yesterday, Okhmatdyt CEO Volodymyr Zhovnir saidthat the Okhmatdyt - Healthy Childhood Charitable Foundation, which has raised over UAH 370 million to rebuild the hospital, does not plan to transfer funds to the account of the Okhmatdyt National Specialized Hospital. The foundation responded to the accusations and explained the reason.