Skopje, 18 July 2022 (MIA) — The Public Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation into the work of Zhan Mitrev Clinical Hospital and doctor Zhan Mitrev after the national broadcaster MTV on Sunday aired “Bad Blood,” an Investigative Reporting Lab documentary raising allegations of fatal medical malpractice against the hospital and its staff. The PPO said a prosecutor has been assigned to investigate “the allegations of crimes against human health” that the IRL documentary alleged. 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 reporters say 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. Since the documentary aired a day ago, the IRL newsroom has received hundreds of citizen complaints of malpractice at public and private hospitals. “IRL is a non-profit organization with a small team of journalists working with modest resources,” the team says. Stressing that they “do not have the power the institutions have to prevent these cases and give them a legal solution,” they insist that citizens send their complaints to the public prosecutor's office and state inspectorates. IRL's documentary showed 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. The Zhan Mitrev Clinic said the documentary was an attempt to discredit the hospital and damage its reputation. "This false information was created with the intention of completely distorting the facts related to the long-term successful work of Zhan Mitrev Clinical Hospital, where more than 400 experts and professionals work under the direction of Dr. Zhan Mitrev,” the hospital said. mr/