The unscheduled control at Neurology Clinic ordered by the Health Minister Milojka Kolar Celarc because of the Radan case revealed a number of irregularities. There were not limited to violations of patient’s rights and prescription and use of drugs, but also systemic irregularities were revealed – violations of labour laws and of legal provisions on institute bodies, organization of the institute, and internal acts.

Some violations have been established only at the Intensive Neurological Care department of the Neurology Clinic and some also at the Neurology Clinic, and at the University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Kolar Celarc explained.

Irregularities must be remedied
Minister explained that the commission checked almost 4,000 pages of records, and had a number of interviews. The control did not refer to professional competence of health care workers. Its purpose was to verify whether the University Medical Centre had operated in accordance with regulations: "They assessed the UMC internal acts and instructions."

The commission gave to the UMC provisions, recommendations, and requests to remedy the situation within the medical centre. Minister claims it is her intention to insist on elimination of irregularities. She will demand full compliance with the decision: "The UMC has to report to the Ministry of Health on elimination of irregularities."

She mentioned that the response of the UMC to the disclosure of the events at the Neurology Clinic in the beginning of the year, when the information on suspected euthanasia scandal came out - Ivan Radan supposedly accelerated death of a 83-year-old patient - was inadequate. In her opinion the UMC kept quiet for too long after the event, and they also failed to detect the danger in time, although they could have. Their actions following the disclosure were uncoordinated, and unadjusted.

"Those doctors who had, or should have suspected that in the Potassium case a criminal act had been performed, had not denounced the criminal act to competent authorities, and thus acted in violation of the act on patient’s rights," Minister said. She also warned that the supervisory mechanisms which had been established within the University Medical Centre have failed, or the employees didn’t follow them. But in spite of that she is certain that it was "an exceptional, unrepeatable occurrence".