Skopje, 18 July 2022 (MIA) — The government has tasked the Ministry of Health with investigating recent allegations of fatal medical malpractice against Zhan Mitrev Clinical Hospital after an Investigative Reporting Lab documentary stirred great public outrage. According to an official press release, the Ministry of Health is to carefully review all information related to the Investigative Reporting Lab documentary on Skopje's Zhan Mitrev Clinical Hospital, broadcast on the National Radio Television on July 17, 2022. Health authorities need to report back to the government within the next two days, the release adds. The Public Prosecutor's Office has already launched an investigation into the work of Zhan Mitrev Clinical Hospital and doctor Zhan Mitrev after the national broadcaster 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 study not reported to or approved by the national Agency for Medicines and Medical Equipment. On their website, the IRL team said they had received numerous complaints by citizens – including a report of charges being filed against the hospital and its staff on behalf of a patient who died from sepsis at the hospital. “After we discovered that COVID-19 patients, without knowing they were the subject of a clinical trial, were offered hemofiltration (blood filtration) as the only cure for the virus and were charged thousands of euros for it, the prosecution will be looking into the testimonies of the victims’ families regarding the malpractice they encountered at Zhan Mitrev Clinic,” the IRL said. 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. mr/