ZAGREB, 7 August, 2022 - Health Minister Vili Beroš said on Saturday he could not say for the time being if there had been any omissions in the medical treatment of reporter Vladimir Matijanić and that that would be determined by a medical inspection he had requested.
Asked to comment on the claims by Matijević's partner, reporter Andrea Topić, that the medical assistance he received was inadequate, Beroš said that he did not have sufficient information on the case for the time being and that the case would be looked into.
Topić has said in a post on social networks that doctors at the KBC Split hospital and emergency medical staff did not want to help Matijević.
She said that Matijević, who suffered from Sjögren's syndrome and interstitial lung disease and was suspected to have two other autoimmune diseases, tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week.
He could not be vaccinated against coronavirus due to his medical condition.
Topić said that despite severe symptoms caused by COVID-19, hospital staff refused to admit him.
She described in her post how many times they had contacted the hospital and the emergency medical service, saying that after the first emergency home visit, emergency medical staff again refused to take Matijanić to hospital. After his condition further deteriorated, an emergency medical team arrived again but it was too late, she said.
Topić also said that staff at KBC Split had told them that no medical institution in Croatia had a drug prescribed for patients with serious conditions to prevent severe COVID-19 symptoms.
Asked to comment on this, Beroš said that doctors prescribed medicines based on the patient's medical condition.
"I cannot believe that anyone whose condition requires it would not be prescribed the medicine they need," he said, noting that there were currently several medicines for the treatment of COVID-19 symptoms and that it would be investigated what condition the reporter was in and if it had required therapy and which.
