Ministry of Health ignores the need for a full inspection of the scandalous Odrex clinic in Odesa

The Ministry of Health of Ukraine sees no grounds for a full inspection of the private clinic "Odrex", where patients are dying. This is stated in the Ministry of Health's response to a request from UNN.

The commission of the Ministry of Health conducted an unscheduled inspection of LLC "Dim Medytsyny" (House of Medicine), to which the "Odrex" clinic in Odesa was previously registered, after the Office of the Prosecutor General addressed the agency with a corresponding request. This was done within the framework of criminal proceedings in connection with the death of a patient due to improper treatment at the medical facility. As a result of the inspection, LLC "Dim Medytsyny" was deprived of its license, as it refused to provide medical documents to the commission. However, this does not prevent the clinic from continuing to operate, as it was re-registered to a new legal entity in the summer, and the medical facility has at least two more licenses.

Meanwhile, more and more stories of victims of "treatment" at Odrex are appearing online. Relatives of the deceased say that their loved ones were treated incorrectly, and the clinic concealed medical documentation and forged documents. At least one such story happened after "Odrex" was re-registered to a new legal entity.

Olha Melai, the wife of a patient who died after treatment at the Odesa clinic Odrex, spoke about the falsification of medical documents at the "Odrex" clinic, the delay in diagnosing the disease, and medical decisions that could have been fatal.

In this regard, UNN decided to find out whether the Ministry of Health plans to fully investigate the activities of this clinic. In response to the request, the agency noted an exhaustive list of grounds for conducting unscheduled inspections in medical institutions.

Among other things, the following ground was noted: "(in case of – ed.) a threat to human life or health, the environment or state security, directly related to the licensee's licensed type of economic activity, and documented by the state authority authorized in the relevant field, - for the purpose of checking the licensee's compliance with licensing conditions related to the relevant case."

At the same time, the Ministry of Health sees no grounds for a full inspection of the clinic, because, according to the agency, the Prosecutor General's Office only requested an inspection of one LLC. The fact that the clinic has several other legal entities, continues to operate, and patients continue to die there, apparently does not concern the Ministry of Health too much.

"The Ministry of Health carried out an unscheduled state supervision (control) measure of LLC "Dim Medytsyny" based on the statements of the Office of the Prosecutor General. Other business entities were not mentioned in the statements of the Office of the Prosecutor General. Thus, there are no grounds for conducting unscheduled inspections of LLC "Medical House "Odrex", LLC "Center of Medicine" by the Ministry of Health," the agency noted in response to a request from UNN.

Criminal case due to the death of a businessman

On October 25, the Office of the Prosecutor General reported 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-developer Adnan Kivan, who was treated at the "Odrex" clinic from May to October 2024.

The OGP noted that 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 oncologist Maryna Bielotserkovska. The investigation, based on the conclusions of the examination, believes that during the provision of medical care, the doctors made significant mistakes, 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, 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 obliged to wear an electronic bracelet. "Odrex" assures that their doctors are highly qualified specialists and act according to protocols. It should be noted that Maryna Bielotserkovska was fired 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 appear one after another - people decided not to remain silent anymore. Those who for years were afraid to speak publicly, today dare to tell stories about how treatment in "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 affected 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, issued bills for 80-90 thousand hryvnias daily. The woman suspects that her husband could have been kept on life support even after clinical death - but not for salvation, but to continue issuing bills. When the woman could no longer pay, she was directly offered to hand over the documents for the 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 intensive care unit in the clinic 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 this treatment."

Khrystyna Totkailo tells about her father, who, at the insistence of "Odrex" doctors, was prescribed aggressive chemotherapy, despite the warnings of Kyiv specialists. She recalls promises that "they will save his voice and larynx," and how her father returned home practically without a chance of survival. Aggressive treatment, in her opinion, not only did not help - it broke him.

Kateryna Boichuk recalls how she sent her mother to a "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 the 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."