Čakovec Hospital: suspicious deaths, petrol instead of saline and mass resignations of surgeons
A series of serious incidents at Čakovec County Hospital: patient died in waiting room, nurse injected petrol, wrong platelet transfusion. Ten surgeons submitted resignations.
Čakovec: patient died in waiting room, petrol into vein, wrong transfusion — hospital faces series of scandals
Luka Palatinuš (38) died in the night of 20 August in the waiting room of the Combined Emergency Hospital Admission (OHBP) at Čakovec County Hospital. According to his father's account, Palatinuš came to the emergency department due to chest pain and blood pressure of around 200. The hospital claims he was examined immediately, an ECG was performed, blood was drawn and therapy was administered, and the findings were normal, after which he was sent to the waiting room where he soon died. Resuscitation lasted around 50 minutes, but without success.
His wife stated that emergency department staff told him: "So you've come." Doctors contacted by 24sata journalists, who were not involved in the treatment, believe a serious breach was made because the patient was not connected to a monitor for continuous surveillance.
Petrol instead of saline solution
That is not the only death that has attracted attention. In September 2020, a 62-year-old patient died after routine haemodialysis. An investigation by the State Attorney's Office (DORH) established suspicion that a nurse injected petrol into the catheter instead of saline solution. The patient died from poisoning and multi-organ failure. In July 2021, charges were brought.
The hospital then announced that "an unauthorised substance that is otherwise routinely applied in local application for such and similar procedures was administered intravenously" and that, despite maximum resuscitation measures, multi-organ failure and death ensued.
Wrong platelet preparation in oncology
On 23 December 2024, a patient in the Department of Internal Oncology and Haematology was given the wrong platelet preparation. The patient died on 26 December. The hospital confirmed the error, but in a written response signed by director Nikola Hren, dipl. iur., explicitly states that death was not a result of the transfusion.
"The patient received a universal platelet concentrate preparation and did not develop a post-transfusion reaction or any other adverse effect associated with the application of the blood preparation. The fatal outcome, which occurred three days after the transfusion, is not related to this preparation but exclusively to the patient's underlying disease," the hospital statement reads. An extraordinary internal audit has been initiated and the Ministry of Health has been informed.
Ten surgeons submitted resignations
In addition to medical incidents, the hospital is facing a serious staffing crisis. Following the appointment of new department heads — particularly Robert Grudić to lead the surgical service — an open conflict erupted between part of the surgical staff and management. Ten specialists submitted resignations, and some doctors previously went on sick leave. The doctors accused management of political staffing and poor management. Management rejected these accusations, arguing that an attempt was being made to destabilise the hospital. Eight surgeons announced they would not return. Citizens organised a protest and demanded the resignation of director Hren and the entire management.
Criticism of OHBP organisation
Well-informed doctors and nurses from the hospital who spoke to 24sata journalists, but declined to have their names published, described systemic problems in OHBP operations. "Now they have started assigning ophthalmology and otorhinolaryngology specialists to OHBP duty shifts who deal with the management of surgical patients, even though that is not their specialty," they said.
They highlighted communication and work organisation as key problems. "Regardless of the final urgency assessment, every patient must have clear information about who assessed them, why the examination was or was not indicated and where and when treatment should continue. A particular problem is the availability of specialist consultative examinations, especially urology during night hours," hospital staff warned. They also cited the problem of patients discharged from OHBP without assured therapy until the relevant doctor begins work.
The 24sata editorial office sent the hospital a query concerning these claims, but no response had been received by the time of publication.
Severely beaten elderly man and gauze that allowed air into the skull
Among the reported incidents, 24sata has previously uncovered the case of a 70-year-old man who in March 2025 was severely beaten and raped. The hospital admitted him twice and discharged him, and on the third visit the emergency department brought him in a coma. The hospital defended its actions, stating that during earlier examinations numerous diagnostic tests were carried out and signs of trauma that would have required different procedures were not identified at that time.
Another incident occurred on 21 February 2025, when a patient was admitted to the Department of Otorhinolaryngology due to nosebleed. According to information obtained by 24sata from multiple sources, whilst hospital staff attempted to stop the bleeding with gauze, the nose was damaged, causing air to enter the skull cavity. The patient was ultimately urgently transferred for surgery in Zagreb.
Čakovec County Hospital has in recent months been one of the most frequently mentioned healthcare institutions in Croatian media, and the series of incidents and staffing crisis have caused concern in both professional and local public circles.
Source: 24sata