Verification of a patient's death at Odrex blocked: the OVA says there are no documents

The widow of a patient at the Odessa private clinic Odrex, who died after treatment at the facility, is trying to obtain the conduct of a clinical-expert commission to assess the actions of the medical staff. However, local officials have effectively blocked the review, ignoring the instructions of the Ministry of Health.

Olha Melai—the widow of Ihor Melai, who died after treatment at the private Odrex clinic—received a response from the Department of Health of the Odessa Regional Military Administration. She had asked to be admitted to the meeting of the clinical-expert commission, which the Department was instructed to hold by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. However, officials answered that they could not hold this commission. The ministry instructed the Department to assess the quality of Ihor Melai’s treatment after his wife’s complaint. The woman asked to review all circumstances of the treatment, medical documents, and possible amendments to them. She also sought to be personally present at the meeting to hand over her documents—in her words, they do not match those that the clinic submitted for the criminal case. The Department explained the refusal by saying that they requested documentation from the clinics “House of Medicine” and “Odrex,” but were refused. The papers were seized by law enforcement within a criminal proceeding, so they are now with investigators. Read also: Waiting for an expert: are doctors from Odrex preparing a reallocation of jurisdiction by lawyers? The case concerns a situation in which the police are investigating several deaths of Odrex clinic patients, including Ihor Melai’s case. The case review has been postponed indefinitely. Officials added that the case would be reconsidered only after they receive the documents. However, they did not name any deadlines or concrete actions for locating them. Now Olha Melai plans to turn directly to the Ministry of Health, which had given the assignment. Without conclusions from the local commission, the ministry cannot review the case itself, so the review has effectively been blocked. The woman notes that even in the first complaint she demanded the electronic records in the Electronic Health Care System. They are updated in real time, signed with doctors’ digital signatures, and investigators cannot seize them. But officials and the commission simply ignored this requirement. In addition, one of Odrex’s lawyers even suggested that she verify the papers, claiming that the clinic retains copies. Ihor Melai’s story: the man underwent treatment at Odrex from February to September 2025 year. His wife insists on reviewing the entire period. In particular, she asks to assess the appointment of immunochemotherapy, which was abruptly stopped after the fourth cycle of eight planned, and the operation to install a pleural port—after which the patient spent three days in intensive care on a ventilator. The biggest inconsistencies were found around this operation: in the consent signed by relatives, local anesthesia was indicated, while the court copy of the clinic listed intravenous anesthesia. In addition, the planned procedure at Odrex was filed as urgent, and the post-operative condition of the patient was described as having no complications.

Earlier we reported that the court in the case of Adnan Kivan’s death at Odrex Clinic has not been able to thoroughly examine the evidence for more than 7 months due to persistent motions and defendants’ non-appearance.