KS Assembly: Those responsible for Džena Gadžun's death to be most severely punished

SARAJEVO, (Patria) – Deputies in the KS Assembly are considering the Information of the Ministry of Health of Sarajevo Canton on the case of the deceased girl Džena Gadžun from Kakanj, with an inspection report from the Cantonal Administration for Inspection Affairs of Sarajevo Canton - Inspectorate, Sanitary, Health and Pharmaceutical Inspection and Food Inspection. The girl underwent surgery on November 8, and after the eyelid surgery at a private clinic, she was transferred to the KCUS in a coma, where she died on November 14. 

Haris Vranić, Minister of Health of KS, presented introductory remarks, emphasizing that the Ministry is crippled because it has no mechanism for punishment or coercion, as the health inspection is excluded from the Ministry of Health, but that he has initiated the procedure to return it within the Ministry's scope.

“In my ten-month mandate, I have not issued a single permit for the operation of a private institution. It is possible that this was due to the pandemic, but so be it. The number I received about private healthcare institutions in KS makes us question who issued these permits and whether any assessment was done. I discovered one private institution that was never registered and operates from a private apartment, referring patients for surgery,” said Vranić. 

KS Prime Minister Edin Forto called on the KS Prosecutor's Office to find those responsible for the girl's death as soon as possible and for the court to impose the most severe punishment on those responsible.

“That someone responsible for this finally ends up in prison. We will carefully monitor what the Prosecutor's Office does and against whom they will file an indictment if one occurs,” said Forto.

Prime Minister Forto stated that the KUIP is understaffed in several areas, including health inspection, but that the request from the Inspection has been positively responded to.

When asked if the dismissal of the member of the Management Board of the Health Insurance Fund of KS, Benjamin Bejtović, has been initiated, given that the surgery was performed in his practice, the answer was:

“If the indictment is confirmed, we will seek his dismissal and carry it out if he does not do it himself,” said Forto.

Minister Vranić stated that doctors who work in both public and private institutions are in a conflict of interest.

“This area needs to be regulated; it is clearly shown that the granting of approvals from one institution to another is drastically different,” said Vranić.

Deputies are demanding a swift reaction from the KS Prosecutor's Office so that this case reaches its conclusion. 

Deputy Segmedina Srna Bajramović (SDP) said that the influence of politics in healthcare is evident. 

"The healthcare system in BiH is seriously ill, and the therapy being applied is privatization. What kind of public system is it where they tell us there is no space, no appointments, no reagents. How is it possible that institutions that have never verified their equipment operate within that system? We find ourselves in an unnatural situation. Whenever we discuss these matters, we prove that the system has collapsed in terms of oversight. We live in an insecure system where we have no protection. This is a case where the KS Prosecutor's Office must prove that it makes sense for it to exist; no one should be exempt from responsibility; no one is guilty until proven guilty, but it is now up to the prosecutors, the Sarajevo police, the inspection. The system must punish those responsible for the obvious negligence," said Srna-Bajramović.  

The discussion lasted for several hours, covering both the Information and the entire healthcare sector in KS.