Nadin Smajlović Case: KCUS is Solely Responsible for Patient Transfer, Not the Federal Institute

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The parents of Nadin Smajlović, a girl who has not received adequate therapy at the University Clinical Center of Sarajevo (KCUS) for three months, have reacted to the statements of Dr. Edo Hasanbegović, Director of the Pediatric Health Discipline at KCUS, that a council decides on transferring a sick person for treatment abroad.

The girl's father, Denis Smajlović, told the Patria News Agency that in his daughter's case, Dr. Hasanbegović stated that the Federal Institute for Health Insurance and Reinsurance is responsible for referring patients for treatment outside of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This claim is incorrect, given that the Rulebook on the conditions and procedure for referring insured persons for treatment abroad clearly states that "the procedure for referring a sick person for treatment in another country is explicitly initiated based on the proposal of the clinical health institution in FBiH where the patient is being treated."

After that, the request is sent to a Professional Commission consisting of medical experts, specialists, and subspecialists for the illness, who make the final decision.

The case of the girl Nadin, for whom KCUS could not provide adequate therapy due to a lack of necessary medication, will also have its legal epilogue, as the parents have filed a criminal complaint for refusing to treat the girl.

KCUS General Director Sebija Izetbegović publicly stated within KCUS during protests held after the incident involving Denis Smajlović and Dr. Hasanbegović that "no one wants to treat this girl with such parents." She added that KCUS could provide therapy to the girl but lacked the medications procured by the Federal Institute. Simply put, at that moment, the girl depended not on doctors but on medication.

The question arises as to why KCUS did not act in accordance with the Hippocratic Oath to save the child's life and recommend transferring the girl to Turkey if they were aware they lacked adequate therapy. Instead, the parents were forced to take the child to Turkey at their own risk to receive the necessary treatment.

KCUS went a step further and, within a few days, revealed all the girl's diagnoses through a press release. After such an act and the violation of all human rights, in this case, children's rights, there was no official reaction.

Hasanbegović claims that in cases where continued treatment abroad is necessary, a professional council, formed at the clinical center level, should provide an opinion.

"I have been treating children for 15 years and can confidently say that at no point was there any barrier to transferring a child to another country if further treatment could not be provided in Bosnia and Herzegovina," Hasanbegović told Faktor.