Skopje, 20 July 2022 (MIA) — Many have had a bad experience with Covid in the country, but this is not the only problem; there needs to be a system that protects the patients, and authorities will pursue the Zhan Mitrev Clinic case until responsibilities are established and the guilty parties, if any, are punished – because nobody is above the law, Health Minister Bekim Sali told a press conference Wednesday. The presser had been scheduled to present findings from the Ministry of Health’s emergency probe into the work of Zhan Mitrev Clinical Hospital, which was launched Monday after an Investigative Reporting Lab documentary broadcast on Sunday alleged fatal medical malpractice against the hospital and stirred great public outrage. The Public Prosecutor's Office, too, on July 18 launched an investigation into the work of Zhan Mitrev Clinical Hospital and doctor Zhan Mitrev after the national broadcaster MRT on July 17 aired the IRL's "Bad Blood." The documentary claimed that the private hospital, which was charging patients exorbitant prices for COVID-19 treatment, used a blood filtration method as part of a clinical trial not reported to or approved by the national Agency for Medicines and Medical Equipment. It also claimed that the hospital never reported any hospital-acquired infections to the Center for Public Health despite their legal obligation to do so. In the documentary, patients' families claimed hospital-acquired infections caused their loved ones to die. “I, as a person, a doctor and a professional in my field, feel a deep responsibility, and I am determined that this case will be resolved,” Minister Sali told the press. “No one is above the law. This will not be a forgotten case. We will pursue it to the end. The Ministry of Health remains open to cooperation with all institutions at the request of the Public Prosecutor’s Office. There are no untouchables, and if responsibility is established, we will have that,” Sali said. The health minister said a team of experts from the National Agency for Medicines and Medical Equipment was meeting Wednesday with Zhan Mitrev Clinic representatives to determine if the hospital followed legal regulations in conducting clinical trials on its patients. Sali also said blood filtration was used in the treatment of critically ill patients in intensive care units. “Whether or not this method was applied in accordance with the strict criteria should be assessed by experts in the relevant fields,” Sali said. He added that the method was “nothing new” and was used at the Cardiosurgery Clinic and the Clinic for Anesthesia, Reanimation and Intensive Care. “The question is whether it was used and when it was used in the "Zhan Mitrev" clinic, and whether the use of blood filtration in the early stage puts patients’ lives in danger,” Sali said. “The public should not be misled. Our emergency inspection over the past 48 hours cannot provide precise results. We will cooperate with all authorities to determine the truth about the work of Zhan Mitrev Clinic,” he said. In response to reporters asking whether the prices for blood filtration were too high, Sali said they were looking at the financial and not the medical aspect of the issue. “If the filtration were 500 denars, you wouldn't complain,” the health minister said. He stressed that the press should be cautious when using terms such as ‘experiments’ carried out on patients. “I would urge you to be careful in what you say. 'Experiment' is a loaded word,” Sali said, adding that patients were given discharge paperwork specifying their treatments. He said the State Sanitary and Health Inspectorate had made 45 regular and 52 emergency inspections in 12 private health institutions over the past three years. Of these, according to State Sanitary and Health Inspectorate director Irinka Sotirova Buhova, three regular and nine emergency inspections were done in the Zhan Mitrev Clinical Hospital. “Zhan Mitrev’s license was given by the Ministry of Health, and the minister can tell you what it says. The State Sanitary and Health Inspectorate is not the authority that should be criticizing or approving the decision made by the Ministry of Health,” Sotirova Buhova said. The Center for Public Health is the institution, according to Sotirova Buhova, that hospital-acquired infections should be reported to. Their experts should then conduct an epidemiological investigation, she said. The National Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices director Lirim Shabani said an ethics committee and a committee on clinical trials were appointed to investigate the case. “It makes sense to give it some time so we can determine everything according to protocols, regulations and laws,” Shabani said. “No one is saying there was or wasn't a clinical trial. We follow what the law says – if someone develops some kind of clinical trial, they are to be sanctioned, and to sanction them, this needs to be verified. The IRL show was very helpful. I also encourage everyone else to help the institutions.” Kalina Grivcheva Stardelova, the president of the Doctor's Chamber, said the chamber had 161 audit requests at the moment, including four for Zhan Mitrev Clinical Hospital, and supervisors were “working all the time on evaluating expert supervision” of healthcare professionals. “Was there a medical error? This is a very serious statement. Let our colleagues, who are experts in the specific areas, determine if this was the case. There is a thing called a team of specialists and subspecialists who will be checking all irregularities,” Grivcheva Stardelova said. mr/