Skopje, 14 April 2025 (MIA) — A hospital inspection is under way at the University Clinic for Cardiac Surgery after the recent death of a patient from an aortic dissection whose relatives blamed staff for not having an available operating room to perform the life-saving surgical procedure he needed.

In response to a reporter's question at a press conference Monday, Health Minister Arben Taravari said the patient had been admitted to the clinic.

"Aortic dissection, that is a serious diagnosis. At least my colleagues from the health sector, doctors or health workers, should know this," Taravari said.

He said doctors had decided to first "stabilize" the patient's high blood pressure before performing the surgery for the tear in his aorta.

"In the meantime, the patient died, unfortunately. I don't know why the family insisted on not having an autopsy performed. Our colleagues insisted an autopsy be performed at all costs to establish the cause," the health minister said.

He added that a team from the State Sanitary and Health Inspectorate was conducting an inspection at the clinic and would promptly report its findings to the Ministry of Health "to determine exactly what happened." 

"However, it is not true that the patient was not admitted. He was admitted. I am telling you that one operating room is being renovated at the Cardiac Surgery clinic, but the other operating room is functional," he said, dismissing rumors that there had been another patient being operated on. 

"There was no other case that caused the wait. His blood pressure needed to stabilize so they could perform the surgery," Taravari said. mr/