Nobody reports doctors' mistakes

The Oda of Doctors is a body that has all legal competencies and authorisations to deal with the assessment, consequences and undertaking of measures in case of professional failing doctors.

Naser Gjonbalaj, deputy chairman of the Oda of Doctors, speaking of Radio Free Europe, said there has never been a demand from citizens for denouncing mistakes or misdesigning diagnosis on the part of medical personnel.

We haven't had an explosive request from citizens for medical errors, but we have continued requests for medical expertise on the part of the court, which is not only about mistakes, it's medical expertise. We as Ode of Doctors see this issue as major that involves medical errors, but we have not had a request for a review of”, Gjonbalaj said.

On the other hand, the World Health Organization's latest report (OBSH) says that each year, 2.6 million people die in countries with average and low income due to neglect in healthcare.

It also states that four out of every ten patients have been damaged during primary and ambulance care. The most harmful mistakes involve diagnosis, prescription, and drug use.

Uncertain surgical care procedures cause complications of up to 25 percent of patients resulting in a million deaths during or shortly after surgery annually.

Meanwhile, there are very few reported cases in Kosovo regarding these eventual medical errors. In the investigative procedure, however, it is said to be just one case.

Laureta Ulaj, official for Information by the Founding Prosecutor in Pristina, said that throughout 2019, there has been only one case, for irresponsible medical treatment.

The foundation procedure in Pristina, during 2018, has accepted seven cases of treatment, related to criminal activity, irresponsible medical treatment, by Article 260 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kosovo. Meanwhile, Pristina Constitutional Prosecutor, from the beginning of 2019 until now, has accepted a case of the same nature”, Ulaj said.

Abdominal surgeon Ferat Sallah, simultaneously director of abdominal surgery at the University Clinical Centre of Kosovo, told Free Europe Radio that doctors' mistakes often “covers the soil”.

He says that this is especially true of cases of trauma such as accidents or attacks on patients when marking delays in medical treatment.

“Often professional mistakes when made are able to exist, and as a rule, every mistake made suggests to the surgeon that an unintentional error is not repeated. Meanwhile, in times when patients do not arrive in time, then mistakes can be fatal, and unfortunately, eventual error covers the soil. The reason is that due to the patient's delay, the bloodshed, the non-profession of professional assistance to the scene, then rapid surgery... but that the patient suffers life. These cases always require that patients not repeat themselves, and we demand that patients go into obesity. However, family members in 99 percent of cases refuse, and the error covers the soil, Sacha said.

Otherwise, in recent years, in Kosovo, the number of autopsys has dropped significantly, health professionals say. They point out that prior to the war period, prior to 1998-99 respectively, autopsy cases were up to 45 percent, while in recent years their number goes to only 2 percent.