INVESTIGATION INDEX
We have proof: The government is lying to us about key findings about the home from which 18 elderly people died
MINISTERS Vili Beroš and Vesna Bedeković and the Split-Dalmatia County lie when they claim that they do not publish inspection reports on the situation in the Home for the Elderly and the Infirm in Vukovarska Street in Split due to investigations conducted by the State Attorney's Office and the police. When asked by Index Investigation whether the publication of inspection reports would negatively affect the findings from the Split Municipal State Attorney's Office (ODO), they answered today:
"In relation to your inquiry of 14 May 2020, I emphasize that the reports of the authorized ministries of the Republic of Croatia can in no way negatively affect the investigations conducted by the Municipal State Attorney's Office in Split regarding the events at the Home for the Elderly and Infirm in Split." in an e-mail signed by Josip Mršić, spokesman for the Split MED.
Justifying inexplicable secrecy
In other words, the publication of inspection reports would not bother state attorneys nor affect investigations. However, we received answers to a series of consecutive Index Investigation emails sent to the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Demography, Family, Youth and Social Policy and the Split-Dalmatia County as the founder of the Home.
And in doing so, they were clearly deceiving us. Since April 7, when covid-19 was detected in ten users of the Home, 68 have become ill and 18 have died. From a number of facts published on the Index and in other media, it can be concluded that his staff and epidemiologist of the Institute of Public Health deviated at least from the "Instructions for the prevention and suppression of the covid-19 epidemic in homes for the elderly and other institutions in the social welfare system" of the Croatian Institute of Public Health and the Institute of Public Health Dr. Andrija Štampar from March 27.
But ministry inspections think differently.
But it hides reports.
Supposedly because of a survey.
If they cared about the independence of the State Attorney's Office, they would not only publicly blame the virus for the scandal in the House
There is at least one good reason that led us to the conclusion that the ministries do not tell the truth when referring to investigations as a reason for failing inspection reports, even before the response of the Municipal State Attorney's Office: both ministers published inspection conclusions. If they really cared about the independence of the State Attorney's Office's investigation, they certainly wouldn't have said at the press conferences - no one in the House is to blame, except for the virus.
And they did that on several occasions.
For the first time at the regular press conference of the Civil Protection Headquarters of the Republic of Croatia held on April 25, Minister Beroš said that the competent services of his Ministry revealed that there were no omissions on the medical side of the Home and that the competent doctor and epidemiologists of the Split Institute of Public Health Dalmatian counties acted according to the regulations and rules of the profession.
Both Beroš and Bedeković assured us that no one was to blame
A day later, when asked by a journalist, Minister Beroš revealed who was to blame for the illness and death in the Home. It is a virus - the Minister of Health announced and promised to publish a "joint report" of the two ministries.
A few days later, on May 1, at the conference of the Civil Protection Headquarters, Beroš will appear in the company of Minister Vesna Bedeković. Homes for the elderly and infirm are mostly the responsibility of the ministry in charge of social welfare, but the services of the Ministry of Health are responsible for the medical care of the beneficiaries. At the same time, the homes are also county institutions, which in practice means that the county authorities take care of their staff in them. In general, Beroš and Bedeković explained the inspection reports of their ministries somewhat more broadly on the International Labor Day. The head of the health department reiterated that from their point of view there were no omissions.
"The home for the elderly and infirm in Split followed all instructions," Bedekovic added
Boban also advertised
That was not enough either, but Blaženko Boban, the prefect of Split-Dalmatia, read the inspection conclusions at a conference of the county headquarters a day later, on May 2. In short, there are old and endangered people in the homes, and the authorities did everything they needed to do.
Blaženko Boban, HDZ's Split-Dalmatia County Prefect
Ministries and the prefect responded shortly after Index released information obtained from a reliable source from the investigation, who was more than satisfied with the evidence obtained.
"We have started investigations on suspicion of committing a crime under Article 180 of the Criminal Code, which prescribes up to three years in prison for spreading and transmitting a contagious disease. We are now moving under Article 192, which regulates serious crimes against human health and death one or more persons are sentenced to three to twelve years in prison, "said our source in the investigation, published exactly nine days before Beros denied the omissions in the Home for the first time. At the same time, the source boasted of good and significant documentation from which it is possible to reconstruct exactly when one of the users of the Home got the temperature and who should have done what and what was missed.
And then the ministers and the prefect said - no one missed anything.
Incredible draws of Beroš and Bedeković to a simple question: Will you publish the findings?
Index Investigations then tried to come up with complete inspection reports. We were interested in the path that led to the conclusions published at the conferences of the national and county headquarters.
The Ministry of Health responded to our request to submit an inspection report with two sentences. We will quote them, although we understood only the other. "The minutes made during the inspection state the facts on the basis of which the inspection takes measures depending on the established, and all in accordance with the powers prescribed by the provisions of the Health Care Act. while the supervision of the work of the medical staff of the Home for the Elderly and the Infirm is the responsibility of the inspection of the Ministry of Demography, Family, Youth and Social Policy, "the Ministry of Health told us three days ago, passing the ball to law enforcement agencies.
In the Ministry of Demography, Family, Youth and Social Policy they were clearer. "Given that the investigation is underway by the State Attorney's Office, we are not able to submit the requested report," they also wrote to us three days ago.
Vesna Bedeković, Minister of Demography, Family, Youth and Social Policy
When we remarked that we were interested in their inspection report, independent of the State Attorney's Office, they wrote: "The inspection report is part of the required documentation during the investigation and thus restricts access to documentation during the criminal proceedings." This was the second attempt to avoid an answer, directed by the Ministry of Vesna Bedeković.
A spectacular response from Bedeković's Ministry
Okay, we were persistent, if there really is “limited access to documentation during the criminal proceedings,” why did the minister reveal the findings of the inspection to the media? The response from the Ministry was just spectacular: "We are forwarding your inquiry to the information officers."
The ministries did not tell us who the members of the inspections were or whether the reports were adopted unanimously or there were dissenting opinions.
In the County, too, they are being extracted for investigations by the State Attorney's Office, which has nothing against publishing the findings
We addressed the Split-Dalmatia County with the same question. Dijana Luetić, Head of the Administrative Department for Health and Social Welfare, resolutely wrote the following: "The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Demography, Family, Youth and Social Policy have submitted a complete inspection, but as further investigations by the competent State Attorney's Office are underway the termination of the proceedings will not be announced. "
Although, the State Attorney's Office has nothing against the announcement.
The search for the culprits does not suit anyone
Determining the culprits for the situation in the Split Home would not suit anyone. If the investigations and investigations were concentrated on the medical staff of the Home, it would prove that they did everything they could and remind that Zdravka Đapić Kolak, the head nurse of the Home, told Index that on March 21 she asked the county headquarters for protective equipment in vain. for staff.
If we were to go towards Ivan Škaričić, a history professor and former mayor of Omiš, who was appointed director by the HDZ after the election defeat, he would probably turn into a very unpleasant witness. In his favor, he would cite the recommendations and decisions he made in order to prevent the spread of covid-19 around the Home, probably even the fact that in the building on Zenta where his office is - the Home, there are two buildings in Split, in Vukovarska Street and on Zenta, and one in Stari Grad on Hvar - the infection did not spread.
Ivan Škaričić
The question would also be asked whether the employees of the Home had the conditions to implement all the prescribed measures if the competent headquarters, county and national, did not provide sufficient protective equipment and if the rooms in the institution have four beds. It would not be pleasant to look for those responsible in the Institute of Public Health, a strong stronghold of the ruling party, and finally, it should not be forgotten that part of the beneficiaries are placed in the Home through a connection, so their families would probably have a warm word for possible defendants.
Politics said - the virus is to blame
It was therefore necessary to come up with a political stance on the guilt of the virus shortly after it was announced that investigators had interesting evidence. It should not be forgotten that the key institution in conducting investigations in the Republic of Croatia is the State Attorney's Office, and its leading person is elected by the parliamentary majority.
And she, the majority in question, would certainly prefer in this pre-election period that the search for the causes of the spread of covid-19 by the Split Home for the Elderly and the Infirm be reduced to a paraphrase of the cult thought of the famous Croatian modern philosopher - who died, died
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