Odrex case: relatives of treatment victims await state reaction after the release of the film "Wasp's Nest"

About two months have passed since the publication of the resonant film "Wasp's Nest" about the activities of the private Odesa clinic Odrex. After widespread public outcry, the logical expectation was a reaction from regulators and law enforcement agencies. UNN asked the relatives of deceased patients whether they had received a response from the state.

After the release of the film about treatment at the Odrex clinic, which, as stated in "Wasp's Nest," led to serious consequences, including harm to health and the death of some patients, new stories about the private clinic began to emerge. They are published by both patients themselves and their relatives on the StopOdrex website.

In addition, it became known that law enforcement agencies are investigating 10 criminal cases involving the Odrex clinic. Some of them were opened based on statements from relatives of victims of treatment at the medical facility, as well as injured patients.

The Ministry of Health conducted unscheduled inspections at the private clinic. One of them took place at "Dim Medytsyny" LLC, which owns the medical facility, and as a result, "Odrex" was deprived of its license. The legal entity refused to provide medical documentation to the commission, which is a gross violation. After that, the inspection was carried out at two more companies associated with the clinic - "Medical House "Odrex" LLC and "Center of Medicine" LLC. It ended on January 8, but the Ministry of Health has still not made a decision based on its results, which may indicate attempts to hush up the matter and leave "Odrex" with licenses.

"No one called me." Lack of any contact with the investigation

One of those whose statement led to the opening of criminal proceedings is Khrystyna Totkailo, who lost her father after treatment at the clinic. In a comment to UNN, she noted that neither the prosecutor nor the investigator had contacted her yet, and therefore she had not received any information about the progress of the case.

Kyivan Khrystyna Totkailo learned about her father's oncological diagnosis and turned to "Feofaniya." The medical council concluded that aggressive chemotherapy was contraindicated before surgery. However, surgeon Ihor Bielotserkovsky, who was also on the council, suggested treatment at Odesa's "Odrex," where his wife, oncologist Maryna Bielotserkovska, works. He assured the desperate daughter that her father's "larynx and voice would be saved" at the Odesa clinic. Before the trip, the family was forced to pay for a consultation in advance, without an examination, which already raised doubts.

At "Odrex," the father was prescribed a five-day course of aggressive chemotherapy, and a second course was immediately planned. The man had a gastrostomy tube inserted, 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 insertion site, through which food was leaking.

After returning to Kyiv, the father's condition sharply worsened: his kidneys failed, and ulcers appeared in his mouth. In response to reports of critical symptoms, the doctor from "Odrex" replied that it was a day off, and all questions would be addressed on Monday. The family paid over 250,000 hryvnias, but the father died. Khrystyna is convinced that the administration of aggressive chemotherapy, contrary to the recommendations of other doctors, was a fatal mistake by "Odrex."

It is currently known that oncologist Bielotserkovska has been served with an indictment in another criminal proceeding regarding the death of an Odesa businessman at "Odrex," and the case has been sent to court for consideration on its merits.

Regarding the case opened based on Khrystyna Totkailo's statement, the affected party is effectively in a complete information vacuum, not understanding the stage of the criminal investigation.

Investigator replacement and silence

Svitlana Huk, who lost her husband as a result of treatment at "Odrex," describes a similar situation.

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, followed by complications, 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 as cold as a freezer, and a heater was placed under the patient's blanket. As the widow herself recounts, Odrex continued to keep her husband's body on life support after clinical death only to issue a larger bill, as 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 recounts, the pressure was so strong that she even contemplated suicide.

Earlier, Huk told UNN that the investigator explicitly told her that no one would investigate the case against the clinic.

"After some time (after her husband's death - ed.), when I somewhat recovered from the shock, I managed to open criminal proceedings. This was in December 2022. But since then, the investigation has practically stalled. They just told me that to my face. The first investigator - Naidenova - told me: 'I am working on your case in my free time from my main job,' and then added that no one would deal with the clinic's case because 'all the management is being treated at 'Odrex,'" Svitlana Huk said.

The Prosecutor General's Office, in response to a UNN inquiry, reported that the investigator in the criminal proceedings opened based on Svitlana Huk's statement had been replaced.

Since then, according to the widow, she has had no contact with the investigation. Her assessment is short and unequivocal - "complete silence."

No less depressing, according to Svitlana Huk, is the situation with the forensic medical examination in the civil case against "Odrex," which she initiated. She noted that the judge had already ruled in her favor three times, ordering the relevant examinations, but the Kyiv expert institution twice returned the documents with a refusal to comply with the court's decision.

"There is complete disregard for the court's decision. I don't even know what needs to happen for these people, the experts, to act according to the letter of the law, according to the court's decision. That is, it's complete disregard, it's disrespect for the court. For me, this is completely incomprehensible," Svitlana Huk noted.

No contact with the clinic

Both Khrystyna Totkailo and Svitlana Huk speak of the absence of attempts by the clinic or related medical structures to make contact, provide explanations, or offer any mechanism for resolving the situation.

Both women note that after the release of the film "Wasp's Nest," other patients who suffered from treatment at "Odrex" are contacting them and sharing their similar stories of losing loved ones, health problems, and systemic "money pumping."

At the same time, many of them, according to Khrystyna Totkailo, are still afraid to speak publicly, even on the specially created platform StopOdrex, which clinic representatives have repeatedly tried to block.

"You know, I just want to say that this 'Odrex' is like some kind of, perhaps, cancerous tumor on the body of society, which slowly and methodically destroys the cells of our single organism, if we are to speak allegorically," Svitlana Huk noted.

Recall

The impetus for the active public coverage of the so-called "Odrex Case" was the death of local businessman and developer Adnan Kivan within the clinic's walls. It is known that he underwent treatment there from May to October 2024. 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).

It later emerged that these were Vitaliy Rusakov, head of the surgical department, and oncologist Maryna Bielotserkovska, who was dismissed from Odrex almost immediately after Adnan Kivan's death. Investigators, relying on expert conclusions, 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 its 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 performed by oncologist Maryna Bielotserkovska.