The Ministry of Health is obliged to respond to public complaints from patients and conduct unscheduled inspections of clinics where there is a threat to life and health - lawyers
Kyiv • UNN
Lawyers claim that the Ministry of Health should conduct unscheduled inspections of clinics where there is a threat to the life and health of patients, even during wartime. This became relevant after the scandal with the death of a businessman in the Odesa clinic Odrex and numerous complaints about improper medical care.
A scandal has erupted in Ukraine concerning the death of Odesa businessman Adnan Kivan at the local Odrex clinic, allegedly due to improper medical care. After the situation became public, stories began to emerge about other victims of the medical facility – relatives report that their loved ones died after treatment at "Odrex." At the same time, the question arises: should the Ministry of Health react to such signals when there is a potential threat to people's lives and health? UNN asked lawyers how the Ministry of Health should act in this situation to prevent tragedies from recurring.
What happened at "Odrex"?
The scandal with the Odesa clinic "Odrex" erupted when the Prosecutor General's Office announced on October 25 that the Main Investigative Department of the National Police was investigating the circumstances of a patient's death after treatment at a medical institution in Odesa. It turned out that this concerned the death of local businessman-developer Adnan Kivan, who was undergoing treatment at the "Odrex" clinic from May to October 2024.
The PGO noted that two doctors were notified of suspicion of improper performance of professional duties, which caused the patient's death (Part 1 of Article 140 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). It was later revealed that these were Vitaliy Rusakov, head of the surgical department, and Marina Belotserkovska, an oncologist. Investigators, based on expert conclusions, believe that the actions of these two doctors caused the patient's death.
The doctors who are suspected provided him with medical care. As evidenced by the commission forensic medical examination, when these doctors provided medical care, there was no proper response to signs of complications and no necessary measures were taken for its timely treatment. Experts concluded that medical error, improper performance of their professional duties by doctors due to negligent attitude towards them are in direct causal connection with the patient's death.
The investigation believes that during the provision of medical care, the medics 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 at "Odrex" on October 27, 2024.
Suspects Marina Belotserkovska and Viktor Rusakov are under night house arrest and are obliged to wear an electronic bracelet.
At "Odrex," however, they insist that their doctors are highly qualified specialists and act according to protocols, and they claim "pressure on business."
After the situation became public, testimonies from relatives of other "Odrex" victims emerged. They report systemic violations of the law in the clinic – blackmail, extortion, falsification of medical documentation, inadequate treatment conditions, and improper medical care. Their stories indicate that the case of the businessman's death due to improper treatment is not isolated. "Odrex" has systemic problems and violations that threaten the lives and health of patients.
Relatives of deceased patients even recorded a collective video address demanding justice and calling on law enforcement agencies to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The reaction of the Ministry of Health is an obligation
Lawyers interviewed by UNN say that the state's reaction to such a situation is not just a right, but a duty of the state.
They emphasize that even in wartime, when state inspections are formally prohibited, the healthcare sector remains in the category of critically important, as it concerns people's lives and health.
Lawyer, managing partner of Magnet Legal, Maryna Mkrtycheva, emphasizes that the circumstances of patients' deaths must be subject to particularly thorough analysis by the state.
Control in the healthcare sector has not ceased throughout the entire wartime period. Mechanisms for assessing the quality of treatment, medical expertise, and state supervision have been in operation. Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 303 allowed for unscheduled state control measures in the presence of threats to life, health, or citizens' rights, and Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 1410 of November 5, 2025, expanded the possibilities for applying such inspections in the field of medicine. Therefore, in the presence of systemic violations, patient complaints, treatment defects, or risks to life, a healthcare institution may be subjected to an unscheduled inspection by the Ministry of Health or other bodies, regardless of the form of ownership, including if it is a sole proprietor doctor.
According to her, the investigation should also establish whether the patient's death occurred as a result of medical error or a defect in care without intent to harm, or whether there was intent in the doctors' actions. According to her, a number of special examinations, in particular, forensic medical examination and clinical and expert assessment of the quality of medical care, will help to clarify this.
According to Maryna Mkrtycheva, if there is even a hint of possible intentional harm in the case, the investigation moves to a completely different legal plane. "Then it is no longer a medical error, but a completely different crime – intentional murder (Article 115 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). It belongs to the category of particularly grave crimes and provides for a much stricter punishment – from 10 to 15 years of imprisonment or life imprisonment," the lawyer noted.
Despite the seriousness of the legal consequences, the Ministry of Health still does not always respond promptly to cases where patients or their relatives report possible violations in a medical institution.
Lawyers emphasize that public appeals themselves are already a reason for the Ministry of Health to react, as they do not arise out of nowhere. Most often, they are the result of real, documented problems in the institution.
The most dangerous crime in the medical field
Alla Tsymanovska, a lawyer at "Ilyashev & Partners," explains that death from improper medical care is one of the most dangerous types of offenses in the medical field.
"The death of a patient as a result of medical error or improperly provided medical care belongs to the most socially dangerous offenses in the field of healthcare. Such actions or inactions of a medical worker fall under the signs of Article 140 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine," the lawyer noted.
She emphasized that the statute of limitations for criminal liability under this article is only three years from the date of the offense. In medical cases, this moment is the date of the operation, procedural intervention, or the date of the patient's death. And within this limited period, the investigation must manage to conduct a full investigation, including interrogations, examinations, and so on.
Unfortunately, in practice, the investigation very often lacks time. Many cases do not even reach the stage of transferring the indictment to court before the expiration of the three-year statute of limitations. However, there are also many examples when all procedures are completed on time, provided that the victims are active and the investigation is properly organized.
Is it possible to check and revoke the medical institution's license?
At the same time, the lawyer emphasizes that systematic violations in the work of a medical institution are precisely the criterion that indicates a potential threat to patients.
If facts of repeated improper provision of care, violations of standards, negligent record-keeping, or other risk indicators are confirmed or reflected in patient appeals, this is a direct reason to initiate an unscheduled inspection by the Ministry of Health or the relevant health department.
She adds that such inspections are not a formality. The consequences for the clinic can be serious – from prescriptions and disciplinary action to the transfer of materials to law enforcement agencies or even the revocation of the medical institution's license.
The issue of inspections of private medical institutions clearly deserves special attention. Danylo Tryasov, an attorney at Law "Leshchenko & Partners," emphasizes that the Ministry of Health has the right to conduct an unscheduled inspection of a private clinic if there are grounds to believe that systematic violations of legislation and licensing requirements are occurring there.
At the same time, he warns that the Ministry of Health may formally refer to Resolution No. 303, refusing to conduct an inspection, but this does not mean that the inspection cannot be initiated again.
After all, the resolution states that in the presence of a threat that has a negative impact on the rights, legitimate interests, life and health of a person, the protection of the natural environment and ensuring the security of the state, as well as to fulfill Ukraine's international obligations during the period of martial law, allow for unscheduled measures of state supervision (control) of legal entities and individuals on the basis of decisions of central executive bodies that ensure the formation of state policy in the relevant areas.
In case of refusal, we recommend submitting a complaint to the Ministry of Health with confirmation (documentary) of the existence of a threat that has a negative impact on rights, legitimate interests, life and health, which is directly related to the licensee's economic activity in medical practice.
In such a case, the Ministry of Health is obliged to make a decision on conducting an unscheduled inspection.
According to Danylo Tryasov, if the clinic does not eliminate the violations recorded during the unscheduled inspection, this may be grounds for revoking its license. In this way, the state can not only record formal violations but also genuinely eliminate the threat to patients and prevent such violations from recurring.
Odrex's attempt to avoid responsibility
After the death of another patient at "Odrex" in October 2024, the clinic's owners urgently re-registered the LLC under which the medical facility was registered and obtained a new license. Thus, the clinic is clearly trying to avoid any responsibility. The founders of the new legal entity included all those who were also in the previous LLC. Among them, in particular, the general director of "Odrex," Tigran Harutyunyan. Since July 2023, he has been a member of the working group on strengthening the role of private healthcare institutions in the restoration and development of the healthcare system, created under the chairmanship of Minister of Health Viktor Liashko.
The fact that "Odrex" urgently changed the legal entity under which "Odrex" is registered and changes licenses like gloves indicates that the clinic has good connections in the relevant ministry at the leadership level and is warned about all the department's steps.
Otherwise, how to explain the fact that "Odrex" published another license on its website immediately after the start of the unscheduled inspection by the Ministry of Health?
Therefore, it is interesting how the Ministry of Health will act, because the owners have changed and formally the patients have claims against the old LLC. At the same time, "Odrex" continues to operate as before – the same address and the same sign, and the doctors in the clinic have not changed. Although there are also questions about their registration or rather re-registration. This is also confirmed by the press service of the medical institution:
"Medical House Odrex and all its departments operate in normal mode. Information about the company's shutdown is not true. The entire medical team of Odrex provides medical care to our patients on a scheduled basis. All our hospitals are equipped with generators that ensure uninterrupted and reliable operation of all medical equipment."
The healthcare sector is one of the most sensitive and responsible, where any mistake has a price that cannot be measured in money or reputation. It is human health and life. In a situation where the number of public complaints against "Odrex" is growing, and each story causes a resonance, the state's responsibility only increases. Because where institutions are silent, facts speak. And when these facts are deaths, complications, and obvious treatment defects, the state has no right to stand aside.
So, the question remains open whether the head of the Ministry of Health, Viktor Liashko, will have the strength to overcome friendly ties and stop the work of a clinic that has obviously become a "death factory," instead of producing new licenses and facilitating the work of such a medical institution?