The Ministry of Health instructed the Odesa Regional Military Administration to review the treatment of a patient who died at the Odrex clinic following a complaint by his widow
Kyiv • UNN
The Ministry of Health instructed the Health Department of the Odesa Regional Military Administration to conduct a clinical and expert assessment of Ihor Melai’s treatment at the private Odrex hospital. His widow, Olha Melai, is asking for the medical records to be checked for possible falsification and for her to be allowed to attend the commission’s meeting so that she can provide documents and present her position.
The Ministry of Health of Ukraine instructed the Department of Health of the Odesa Regional Military Administration to conduct a clinical expert assessment of the quality of medical care and medical services provided to Ihor Melai, who was treated at the private Odrex clinic and later died. The decision was made following a complaint by his widow, Olha Melai, who is asking for the circumstances of her husband’s treatment, the medical records and possible changes to them to be examined, UNN writes.
Details
In response to a request from the UNN editorial office, the Ministry of Health reported that Olha Melai’s appeal regarding the circumstances of her husband’s treatment at the Odrex clinic had been officially registered.
The clinical expert assessment is intended to establish how high-quality and justified the medical care received by Ihor Melai at Odrex was.
The Ministry explained that the specific case must first be reviewed by the clinical expert commission of the regional administration’s health department. The Ministry of Health’s own clinical expert commission may review the case only afterward
Melai asks to be invited to the commission meeting
caption: Olha Melai, widow of Odrex patient Ihor Melai
Olha Melai told UNN journalists that she, in turn, had submitted a petition to the Department of Health of the Odesa Regional Military Administration. In it, she asks to be invited to the commission meeting. The widow wants to personally present her position regarding her husband’s treatment and provide the commission with the documents in her possession.
For Olha Melai, this is a matter of principle, since one of the main complaints to the Ministry of Health concerns precisely the discrepancy between the documents the family received during the treatment and the materials the clinic submitted to the court. She also noted that her children support her in the struggle for the truth about their father’s treatment.
Almost eight months of treatment at Odrex
Ihor Melai underwent treatment at the private Odrex clinic from February to September 2025. In a complaint to the Ministry of Health, his widow claims that during the first four months, doctors did not inform the family of the real prognosis for the course of stage IV diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.
In Olha Melai’s opinion, as a result, her husband and family did not have all the information necessary to make informed decisions about further treatment.
A separate set of questions concerns the prescribed course of immunochemotherapy.
According to the widow, the initial plan involved eight courses, but treatment was discontinued after four courses. Melai questions the justification for this approach and asks experts to assess the doctors’ actions.
Background
At Olha Melai’s request, law enforcement officers opened criminal proceedings No. 42025163030000200. They concern, in particular, the circumstances of the surgery and the performance of pleural punctures, which the widow considers unjustified. According to her, the total cost of her husband’s treatment at the Odrex clinic amounted to approximately $50,000. The final legal assessment of the stated circumstances must be provided by law enforcement authorities and the court.