Collective (2019) - full transcript
Director Alexander Nanau follows a crack team of investigators at the Romanian newspaper Gazeta Sporturilor as they try to uncover a vast health-care fraud that enriched moguls and politicians and led to the deaths of innocent citizens.
On the 30th of October 2015
a fire breaks out
during a concert
in the Colectiv club in Bucharest.
It instantly kills 27 young people
and injures another 180.
Outraged by the fact that the popular club
was functioning without fire exits,
people take to the streets
against the corrupt authorities.
Massive nationwide protests force the
Social Democratic government to resign.
To calm the people's fury
a politically independent government
of technocrats is appointed.
It receives a one-year mandate,
until the next general elections.
37 more burn victims
die in hospitals during the four months
after the Colectiv fire.
I lost a loved one, Madalina.
It is tragic and painful for all of us.
Unfortunately, our health system...
is rotten.
How could people who escaped the fire...
still die in hospitals 12 days later?
Good afternoon.
My son...
On the 4th, the Vienna General Hospital
agreed to take my son.
They refused to sign...
The Bucharest Hospital
refused to sign off on his transfer.
The hospital's management, that is.
When he finally arrived in Vienna
on the evening of the 7th...
bacteria had infected his entire body.
We asked why they foolishly delayed
his transfer? And they answered,
"A communication error".
A communication error killed my son.
My name is Laurentiu Istrate.
I am the father
of one of the young people...
who died after 13 days of agony
in a Bucharest hospital.
The authorities lied to us,
and failed to transfer them abroad...
in time, where they could have been saved.
Maybe not all of them would have lived.
But surely we wouldn't have had
another 37 die after the fire.
I am Catalin Tolontan,
from the Sports Gazette.
The media and the public
were told that authorities
were managing the situation impeccably
and providing the best
medical care possible.
- Did they tell you the same thing?
- Yes.
So you were as confident as we were?
All hospitals gave
the same standard answer.
"We have everything we need.
Your children are being treated
better than in Germany."
- Same as their public statement.
- Yes.
The same answer was given to us personally
by the minister of health at that time.
Fuck all your wicked corruption!
It's been there since our inception
But we couldn't see
All the times we've felt so hollow
As our hopes were hanged in gallows
All this time we've been locked away
And there was nothing left to say
Until today!
Cheers!
To all of us!
Thank you very much
for being here tonight.
Something's on fire here.
That's not part of the show.
Is there a fire extinguisher?
Easy, easy!
Get out!
The Romanian government sends
its condolences to the victims' families.
Every effort is being made
to save those who are hospitalized.
At present,
all medical needs are being met.
I assure you that everything
that could be done in Germany
is being done here for all of them.
Eighty to 90 patients are in severe
or critical condition.
We have all the conditions
to provide the best medical care
at European standards.
COLLECTIVE
The identity of our sources
is sacred to us.
- We wouldn't put anybody in danger.
- Right.
What can I tell you...
they were all killed
by various bacterial infections.
The pyocyanic bacteria
are the most aggressive.
That's what they are hiding.
- Hospital infections?
- Yes.
- So infections killed them?
- Yes.
Did bacteria cause deaths
in other hospitals as well?
Yes. Our hospitals are not safe
for burn patients.
Once infected with this,
they don't stand a chance.
- Really?
- Within only 48 hours, one of my patients
was infected with two different bacteria.
If we remain silent we are complicit.
As doctors you can't be forced
to act against your conscience, right?
Facts are facts,
the burn patients were kept
in a known septic environment
and exposed to some of the most resistant
hospital bacteria in Europe.
That's a fact.
Hospitals that could not treat
severe burn patients
were forced to do it
and the doctors had
to improvise on their treatment.
Have you heard of any problems
with the disinfectants used in hospitals?
That they were of poor quality?
Look!
When he brings the next bag
I'll move the car a bit.
There's another one!
Hexio-B.
It's Hexio-B. I'll check labels
to see which is which.
- See, they have different labels.
- One is black, one is white...
- What is this?
- This is the Hexi Pharma factory.
- Our sources' workplace?
- Yes.
And they produce disinfectants
for 350 hospitals?
That's the place, yes.
Go on.
- We took a photo of this guy...
- Skip that.
- Were they carrying disinfectants?
- Yes.
They loaded them in this car.
- Did you get the owner?
- Yes, we waited for hours.
- This is the owner's car.
- A Porsche.
- Okay. Is that him inside?
- It's him.
- A doctor.
- Let's see his face.
After we took the first photos
I called the sources, "Is this the one?"
They said it’s him. It's Dan Condrea.
This is the guy.
Okay. So here's the idea,
a Romanian producer
provides hospitals with disinfectants...
that are diluted.
Diluted to various degrees,
depending on the product.
What did your first source say exactly?
That the disinfectants' active ingredients
are diluted.
- They don't match...
- Is that the first thing he said?
He showed me these production formulas
and said "Take a look
at the active ingredients.
We use 60 kg for 600 kg of disinfectant.
That's ten percent.
Now, look at the label on the product.
it says it contains 15 percent."
Same for this one.
Your source says the formula
wasn't changed
- even after the fire at Colectiv?
- Yes, he said,
"This isn't killing bacteria.
It's killing people."
The second source said the same,
"I'm not a murderer.
I have deaths on my conscience."
That's why he left the company.
How did Hexi Pharma advertise?
One thousand clients,
2,000 operating rooms, 140,000 hands...
- Two thousand operating rooms?
- Yes.
So, 2,000 operating rooms...
are using diluted disinfectants.
Could they be...
so wicked as to feed us fake documents?
I'll tell you what many readers
will ask...
"Take the products to a lab,
have them tested."
ICHECHIM LABORATORY ANALYSIS DEPARTMENT
I can't comment.
It's not my area of expertise...
I understand, but it's frightening.
...to say if these
disinfectants alone contributed...
Well...
- Should she sign for these results?
- No.
CHEMISTRY AND LIFE
I just don't get it.
How can they dilute it ten times?
On the one hand
I wanted it confirmed...
Do you realize we've all been exposed,
while in hospital?
In the hospitals they dilute it again,
maybe also use it improperly.
That's the thing,
they dilute it more than recommended.
No wonder pyocyanic bacteria
were found in the sterilization tanks.
Now I get it.
The surgeon thinks it takes
30 minutes to disinfect the scalpel,
but the cleaned scalpels
carry pyocyanic bacteria.
Guys, we got them!
Suprasept, for instance,
is diluted ten times.
These are the substances
used in operating rooms.
That's what the hospitals used
for the Colectiv fire victims.
St. John's Hospital, Pantelimon Hospital,
the burn hospital,
and where they were not used,
Hexi Pharma donated them.
The Romanian state failed to ensure
the citizens' safety
to the point where this madman,
or murderer, was allowed to...
- Our first thought was to run the test!
- Exactly!
It's the first thing that came to mind!
Exactly, to see if what's on the label
matches what's in the bottle.
And the state didn't even think
to verify it just once!
To check on this madman,
who got into every hospital.
Just once, to check this stuff
used by all hospitals!
Let's split the pages.
- Do you have a headache?
- No.
Let's call the minister of health.
- It's almost 6:00 p.m.
- Already?
The Remorse of a Factory Employee
Considering what we're about to publish,
it's a problem
if the minister won't comment.
Hexi Pharma signed 796 contracts with
various hospitals in the past nine years.
Dear Minister,
I am Catalin Tolontan, journalist.
We need your statement on the discovery...
The state didn't do anything.
DISINFECTANT DILUTED TEN TIMES!
We are back live.
The Ministry of Health
will begin to examine
disinfectants used in hospitals,
after the Sports Gazette's
investigation revealed
that two products
used to disinfect operation rooms
were diluted up to ten times.
Biological bomb in Romanian hospitals.
Disinfectants used in thousands
of operating rooms are ineffective.
The minister of health can't explain
and has just begun investigating.
I have ordered investigations
by public health departments
across the country.
A total of 208 hospitals were controlled.
Samples were taken from nightstands,
headboards and hallways.
Suspicion is directed
at Hexi Pharma products
after journalist Catalin Tolontan
stated they were defective.
When the fire started,
the crowd ran towards the exit.
Desperate to escape,
people trampled on each other.
Following the Colectiv fire,
64 people lost their lives.
Next to me is journalist Catalin Tolontan,
who investigated this tragedy
that led to a change of government.
I have this document...
to show to the audience
of the public television.
This number here,
1.17 percent is the concentration
of the active ingredient
in the disinfectant.
The label says it should contain
12 percent. It is diluted ten times.
And we face the most
dangerous hospital bacteria in Europe.
Clearly, it was
an institutional lie at state level
propagated through all
communication channels,
that everything was done perfectly,
that hospital conditions were ideal,
"like in Germany".
That was the statement, "like in Germany".
We have blindly trusted the authorities.
Myself included, as a journalist.
I've said this many times,
when the press bows down
to the authorities,
the authorities will mistreat
the citizens.
This always happens, worldwide,
and it has happened to us.
MINISTRY OF HEALTH
Good afternoon, Minister.
Good afternoon.
Our main...
Our main responsibility
is the safety of our patients.
It is our duty to investigate
any suspected threat
to our patients' safety.
In this context, I will present
the sanitation test results.
We have tested surfaces, hands and objects
to determine if the product
was effective
in destroying microorganisms.
In over 95 percent of cases...
it appeared they tested well.
Less than five percent failed the test.
Given the circumstances
and the measures we've taken...
I consider that our patients
are in no danger at this moment.
We still don't have an answer
regarding the concentration
of active ingredients in disinfectants.
The investigation is ongoing.
For people to feel safe,
you should announce the measures taken
in the hospitals
where tests revealed problems.
We took all the measures,
according to the law.
For what bacteria
were the disinfectant tested?
- Which bacteria get killed by them?
- We don't test for bacteria.
We test if anything grows
after the disinfection.
- Not "anything", sorry!
- Here's a paper that says otherwise.
Received today from the Bucharest
Public Health Department.
It says here that nine Bucharest hospitals
conducted tests in their labs
and only tested for four bacteria.
The procedure was the following,
hospitals staff made their own inspection.
Let me be clear.
These tests are objective
and backed by evidence...
- Still very subjective!
- Maybe, but backed by evidence
as all tests were done by accredited labs.
These tests were conducted
by the same people,
suspected of professional misconduct.
The people who purchased
these disinfectants
without any quality control.
They and they alone
are accredited to do this.
Should we bring extra-terrestrials
to run the tests, dear sir?
Until proven guilty...
I cannot make accusations
against any company.
I can't use as evidence
tests that were done by unaccredited labs.
- So it's a fake crisis?
- Let's not call it a "crisis".
Such a press campaign
won't solve the problem.
The disinfectants are effective
in 95 percent of cases.
For the remaining five percent
I have ordered measures
which will ensure our patients' safety.
It doesn't match.
The ICU death rate is at 90 percent
because of hospital infections.
Catalin Tolontan
from the Sports Gazette speaking.
You probably know why I'm calling.
It's about the problems
with biocides used in hospitals.
Their dilution, and more.
I know you discussed this
with Intelligence Service agents.
And they knew about it.
If it's confidential, I'll respect that.
A long time ago, yes.
Around ten years ago, right?
Do you remember
how the Intelligence Service reacted
to what you told them ten years ago?
Several colleagues are working on it.
We're doing our best.
Yes, that's true.
Thank you very much, Professor.
Have a nice evening.
Mirela!
Did he admit it?
There's this man...
who's given the Intelligence Service
dozens of briefings since 2008.
Along with thousands of pages
of documentation.
He sent us a few dozen,
and sent them thousands, over the years.
He was contacted first by two agents...
and later on by their pharma experts.
At some point he had to tell them,
"We've been talking for years
and you never did anything."
They told him that their reports
got stuck somewhere.
"Where?"
They wouldn't tell him
if inside or outside the Service.
Even before publishing
we wondered if the Service knew about it.
This man was telling them for eight years
that it's murder,
that it kills people in hospitals.
- Do you think people understand this?
- Yes!
If a loved one died or suffered from this,
you'd go crazy.
The story is so mind-blowing,
I am afraid we'll look crazy.
Why should we look crazy?
I told them it was a disaster,
it was killing people.
Intelligence issued 100 briefings
"including on hospital infections"
Briefing sent to the Intelligence Service
Intelligence Service knew
about the diluted Hexi products
and the rigged tender.
It's fine. Let me send you one more thing.
Healthcare for all! Not just for mobsters!
Healthcare for all! Not just for mobsters!
I AM THE 5%
#CORRUPTIONKILLS
Respect to the Romanian journalists
who remained honest!
Applause for the journalists
who uncovered this story!
Tolontan! Tolontan! Tolontan!
Tolontan! Tolontan! Tolontan!
The best investigations
are made by a sports daily!
That's the state of our press.
- Indifference...
- ...kills!
Dilute corruption! Dilute corruption!
Resign! Resign! Resign! Resign!
The Intelligence Service confirms
that between 2011-2016
they sent 115 briefings
regarding hospital infections.
The documents mentioned
poor-quality disinfectants
used in hospitals nationwide.
The briefings were sent to the president,
the prime minister,
to health ministers...
Following street protests
and the tense healthcare situation,
the prime minister
called in the healthcare management
and stated that healthcare is now
the government's number one priority.
We are waiting for the conclusions
on today's meeting.
State secretaries
from the Ministry of Health
and the defense minister
arrived a short while ago.
This morning I talked
to Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos.
Our different perspectives
has led to my decision to resign.
I am part of the healthcare system...
and I want the system to improve.
I have put all my good intentions into it.
- Thank you.
- Minister, no questions?
Goodbye and good luck!
This government had promised a dialogue!
His problems were clear from the start.
He was a hospital manager
before he was minister.
His actions and decisions as minister
were contaminated
by his memories as manager of a hospital
that used Hexi Pharma products.
That's not a crime as such,
as they are used by 350 hospitals.
The police have started investigations
at three Hexi Pharma facilities.
Dan Condrea, the owner of Hexi Pharma,
came personally to open the doors
for the police.
Will you cooperate with the police?
No comment?
The offshore company is called Hatom Ltd.
When I get the data from Cyprus,
I'm sure I'll find him or his wife.
Look here!
Represented by Dan Alexandru Condrea.
Fuck him!
He can't hide that it's his.
Fine. We also got hold of...
- These are bank statements from Cyprus.
- Yes, his bank statements.
I know how to get more of these.
- Do you also have cash withdrawals?
- We have all we need.
- Then you'd see the flow of money.
- We have enough.
We have evidence
that he buys his ingredients
at seven times the price.
His offshore company buys at market price
and sells the ingredients
for seven times more to Hexi Pharma.
- They overcharge Hexi.
- Yes.
And he moves money offshore
and can use it for bribes.
Classic offshore fraud scheme.
Yes, the offshore company
gets the big money.
Black money he uses to bribe
the health system,
for business advantages.
Speaking of bribes,
we need to figure this out.
Out of 100 epidemiologists,
80 were in his pocket!
We are back live.
Dan Alexandru Condrea,
the owner of Hexi Pharma,
arrived
at the General Prosecutor's office.
Did your company dilute the disinfectants?
Dan Alexandru Condrea
entering the Prosecutor's Office.
A criminal investigation is underway
regarding
the probably diluted disinfectants
used in Romanian hospitals.
The investigation...
Tests for Hexi Pharma disinfectants
will be ready tomorrow.
The government ran the tests
at ICECHIM, the only specialized lab,
which, however, is not accredited.
Good afternoon.
We will announce the first set of results.
Discrepancies were noted
between the declared concentration
and the measured concentration.
For instance, Glutaraldehyde
measured 1.23 percent
instead of the declared 12 percent.
Iodine measured 7.41 percent
instead of the declared ten percent
concentration in active ingredients.
This basically applies
to all Hexi Pharma disinfectants.
Please use the microphone.
Catalin Tolontan from the Sports Gazette.
How many of the tested disinfectants
are diluted?
All of them.
- All are diluted?
- Yes.
Every tested product.
- Again, all products are diluted?
- Yes.
Could you then explain the five percent
announced last week
by the minister of health?
That's an entirely different topic,
the five percent.
- Look, I'm not an epidemiologist...
- But you are a doctor.
I'm asking you as a doctor,
not as state secretary.
Could 14 diluted products...
possibly be 95 percent efficient,
in sanitation tests?
Sanitation tests reveal bacteria
remaining on hands and surfaces
that had been cleaned...
- With Hexi Pharma!
- No.
- Oh, yes!
- Will you let me finish?
Cleaned with a disinfectant.
So these 14 products that are all diluted,
were found 95 percent efficient
in sanitation tests.
We ran chemical tests,
not sanitation tests,
and the results were bad.
Any correlation with what happened before
is as irrelevant
as talking about previous tests.
What were the risks for the patient
if a surgeon's hands were disinfected
with this product?
If the active ingredient
was supposed to be 25 percent
but this test shows it's 0.01 percent.
There is some risk
but we don't operate without gloves.
When you picked up the results,
- how did you feel, as a doctor?
- Let's not talk feelings here.
How does a doctor react to this?
We have stated our position
without involving emotions.
Thank you for your attention.
Once we have new information
or new decisions,
we'll let you know.
We hope the prosecutors
will call to account those responsible.
Starting with the diluted disinfectants.
Our healthcare system
is "diluting" public money
into invisible pockets
and they cover up for each other
while patients are suffering.
When moderating comments,
remove "let's hang them"
and "shoot them all" and such.
If they say "it's genocide," no problem,
but let's not incite violence, please!
A lot of comments will be like
"kill them, skin them alive!"
This could be suicide
or just a car crash
that killed Condrea,
the owner of Hexi Pharma.
Murder is however not ruled out.
Please, move back!
- Move back and film from over there.
- Is the investigation over?
If not, why did you remove the car?
It was difficult,
as the body was disfigured.
His ID was found in the car,
but his wife had to identify the body.
I don't know.
We knew he was under surveillance.
- I changed the title for the blog.
- Okay.
His ex-wife declared,
"He wasn't the type to kill himself,
rather the type to kill someone.
If it's suicide, they pushed him."
CONDREA DEAD!
HIS SECRETS ARE OUR WOUNDS!
Yes, Mirela.
Everybody's gone crazy.
They all believe
the mafia state killed him.
Why the hell was he still free?
We're not the only ones,
everyone's asking!
They only had to nail Condrea
to make him talk,
get him to confess
and demand a list of 50 accomplices...
who he bribed within the health system.
- And offer him a deal.
- Exactly.
Is there any source we haven't called,
anyone who might know something?
That's right,
just squeeze it right underneath it.
It will come through the leg, so...
And just lift it up slightly.
And open.
Then rise up.
- Yeah.
- And that's it.
You doing that?
Yeah.
So you can just move your thumb round.
Position it. Yep.
Keep it open.
And don't...
No, keep it open and relaxed.
Okay. I'll let you move forward
and just practice.
Good girl.
Good.
Mom...
Hello.
That's it.
My mom is crying.
I was gonna say, it will be emotional
for your mum to see.
Good afternoon. I am Vlad.
As of Friday afternoon,
I am minister of health.
Thank you for being here.
I've known many of you
for quite some time.
From back when I was
a patients' rights activist.
I am now in charge of this system
which undoubtedly needs improvement.
To make it more truthful,
more transparent and more solid,
I'll need your support.
I'll need allies. The first thing to do
in order to regain trust
is to stop lying.
When will we see test results
for other brands?
We will perform sanitation tests
on all disinfectants used in hospitals.
The results will be made public
immediately.
Two weeks ago,
the state secretary for health
publicly promised to test the composition
of other disinfectant brands.
For Hexi Pharma,
hospitals made their own sanitation tests
and all results were good.
And now you're starting
sanitation tests again?
The same inspection that failed before?
Well...
Some legal issues need to be clarified
for the sanitation inspection
to be truly relevant.
In a few days,
once this problem is solved,
I will give you further details.
"Germs spread in three ways
as regards hospital infections.
This one is personal hygiene
and environment.
Under Council of Europe recommendations,
every three to four years,
member states must report
on the hospital infections situation."
We have reported it, it was deplorable.
The most deplorable in the EU?
The estimated death toll
is 12,000 per year.
Just the reported ones.
Many patients leave hospitals
carrying the bacteria,
but without symptoms.
Want to read this?
The lady is waiting outside for an answer.
My goodness! Yes.
Should she wait?
Give me until tomorrow.
Tolontan wrote...
"On some questions,
Minister I-am-Vlad simply screwed up."
Don't mind him.
I think tonight
we don't have to mince words
on this widely publicized topic,
the biggest scandal of the past years.
Let's also discuss the investigations
of the health system.
Hexi Pharma was no accident.
In other words, could they have done it
by themselves, alone?
For instance, at the Municipal Hospital
in Craiova,
manager Alice Gavrila
bought 180 litres of Suprasept
at 28 Lei per litre
and 1010 litres of the same disinfectant
practically, six times more,
at 38 Lei per litre.
So when she buys more, the price goes up.
We can't just ignore these facts.
We're talking about a system.
Do you think it was possible
for Condrea to bribe...
Not Condrea personally,
the system he created.
- Okay, his team, whatever.
- Yes, it was possible.
Was it possible to bribe
300 hospital managers?
Managers and staff handling acquisitions.
- More than 300 people?
- Absolutely!
- Why else is there panic now?
- What panic?
Panic in hospitals.
Panic of hospital managers.
You are always very vehement.
Vehement and accusing.
When the whole country becomes hysterical
and people refuse to enter hospitals,
afraid of infections,
when someone commits suicide
because of this intense context...
- So you know why Condrea killed himself?
- Sorry?
- You know why Condrea killed himself?
- I suppose he was depressed.
Trying to place blame for a suicide,
an act so intimately related
to a person's inner state,
that is hard to know...
A press investigation
has sent a man to his grave.
No, it wasn't the investigation
that killed him.
This is a distorted interpretation
of an act too painful and intimate
to be judged by others.
- If you are blaming us for his suicide...
- I didn't.
- You said the press investigation...
- The pressure.
Maybe he felt guilty for experimenting
on 300 Romanian hospitals.
The company has been doing this
from the beginning,
not for just two-three years.
What they did has a name,
it's called an experiment.
In science, this is called an experiment.
But it's done in a laboratory,
not nationwide in 300 hospitals
risking the lives
of 3.8 million patients every year.
Let's recap.
All you write about the health system
is terrifying.
What's your goal?
My son was my first critic,
using almost the same words
about my reports on the Colectiv tragedy.
"Let the doctors do their job
and don't disturb them
- with such disclosures."
- What did you answer your child?
That it's my profession,
however disturbing.
Two months later, my own conclusion
was that our silence during
the first days after the fire
allowed the authorities to lie to us.
There is no final goal, I think,
in this profession.
All I'm trying
is to give people,
after this discussion tonight,
more knowledge
about the powers
that shape our lives.
If the prosecutor is investigating Hexi,
why do we still have
to test Hexi products?
I have a clear answer,
Hexi is still on the market.
It's temporarily blocked
in hospital storehouses...
We still have Hexi Pharma products
in hospitals.
- But for a different reason.
- Because we can't test them.
- It's unacceptable! The state...
- You're jumping to conclusions!
They can't be withdrawn because by law
only the company can withdraw the products
but the company can't issue
corrective invoices
because the court blocked
its bank accounts.
Okay.
Somehow, in this country...
in any sane society, a harmful product
gets withdrawn immediately.
This is a harmful product!
We should draft a law, if there isn't one.
To indict someone, prosecutors must run
their own tests.
I don't care where,
that's not the ministry's concern.
- It's the prosecutor’s concern.
- Exactly!
Let's leave Hexi Pharma
to the prosecutors.
Let's stop dealing with them.
The Ministry of Health
should wait for a verdict.
How can we legally prohibit...
What's our solution for these biocides?
- We don't know.
- Ask Elena, ask Gabi!
Should I give a solution?
Neither you nor your advisors
should provide solutions.
Solutions should come
from the ministry staff
who are specialists in that domain
and you can approve or reject them.
There are a lot of biocides on the market
that don't comply
with European regulations.
Whose job is it
to take them off the market?
Who approved them?
Let's investigate it! Who approved them?
Why? Who drafted the criteria
for approving them?
And shouldn't this committee have realized
that it went wrong, and changed it?
I'm not kidding. In writing.
An official address
to ask for an explanation.
It should have been done a long time ago.
Who was responsible for biocides?
I mean it! Let's fire them all.
Cut this part,
the doctor's voice can be heard.
- These maggots can be removed, right?
- Of course!
You filmed it one day
after you heard about it.
Burn patients should be bathed daily.
It means he hadn't been bathed since...
Doctor, have you sent this video
to anyone else?
No, to nobody.
I realized, as I told you before...
they know everything...
and still do nothing.
The minister of health...
I don't know his reasons.
What is the solution?
I would shut down this hospital.
There's pyocyanic infection,
resistant to all antibiotics...
and deaths caused
by inaccurate blood transfusions.
- Why wait longer? What could change?
- And maggots!
What can be changed?
What else needs to happen
for things to change?
Aren't you afraid, Doctor?
We won't disclose your identity, okay?
Not only are people dying in ICU,
they're dying covered in maggots.
Maggots are growing on patients.
Everyone is waiting to hear
what the fuck you will do.
How many will the ministry let die
before doing something?
This will be the question.
The minister's press conference
starts at 11:00.
People are dying,
everyone's expecting measures.
We can only take radical measures.
But radical measures
aren't taken under pressure
and in haste. Closing down the hospital
is irresponsible!
We must relocate the burns unit!
The only reason that hospital still exists
is the medical staff working there.
And the fact that no other hospital
can take in burn patients,
you must say this.
Yes, there are staff that know
how to treat burn patients.
Did the patient with the maggots die?
I don't know, but we should find out.
Sorry to bother you,
who is the patient in the video?
I understand he is not severely burned.
Okay.
I have to hang up now.
Thank you very much.
That man died, actually.
Last night.
Let me begin by expressing
my deepest regret...
for the burn hospital patient's case.
This press conference
is about the burn hospital.
That hospital is in a serious state...
and not just since recently.
The situation has been known
at least since the Colectiv fire.
But nothing has been done to improve it.
Leaving aside severe management failures
the only reasonable solution...
is to relocate the hospital.
Minister, it seems medical procedures
were not followed.
If patients had maggots, no one cleaned
or disinfected their burns.
Aren't the medical staff responsible
for the patients?
Maggots don't grow suddenly,
or in an hour...
I can only agree with you.
But I want to point out
that we cannot blame the entire staff.
This is the only hospital
with specialized personnel
- for severe burns.
- If there's an explosion now,
where would the victims be treated?
Abroad. We lack the capacity,
even five burn patients
would be a serious problem
for our country. And this is unacceptable.
- Thank you very much.
- Thank you.
I honestly had the feeling
that you knew what was going on
and weren't going to do anything.
You know?
Yes, the level of trust
is very low on all sides.
Of course it is.
Also, when you gave Tolontan that video,
that wasn't the normal thing to do.
I understand perfectly,
because for years, for decades,
things have been covered up.
So, I understand,
but it's not the normal thing to do.
When I complained
to the hospital manager,
he responded in writing
that complaints should be addressed
to my direct boss.
That is, to the head of department who,
after the Colectiv fire,
declared that we had
the best medical conditions.
While our patients were dying away.
As they are now.
The last victim in our hospital,
Boghian Roxana...
who survived till December, the poor girl,
had pyocyanic bacteria even in her ears.
- A Colectiv patient?
- Yes.
Even in her ears.
She only had burns on ten-15 percent
of her body.
She surely didn't die of airway burns.
You know, they cover patients' faces
with sheets.
To not have to see them.
I went in and asked, "What are you doing?
They're not dead!
How dare you cover their faces?"
They folded a piece of sheet
and covered their faces.
They wake up,
they open their eyes onto a sheet!
This is the situation,
and they just don't care.
Doctors bribe their superiors
to be assigned to...
- What, they bribe...
- Doctors bribe the head of surgery
in order to be assigned
to the operating rooms
where patients give more bribes
to the doctors.
Got it?
How the hell can all this be solved?
How did hospitals get so bad? And doctors?
It's their humanity, after all.
Well, as my mother put it,
we're no longer human.
We doctors, we're no longer human beings.
We only care about money.
Uncover this one.
How is your life after the Colectiv fire?
I am working with an NGO,
I am trying to divide my effort
between my own recovery
and helping out others.
Do you hold a grudge for what happened?
No, I am not able to hold a grudge.
Where do you find the strength to go on
when you look in the mirror and know
that someone is guilty,
and you didn't deserve this?
I have no choice,
the only way is forward, and up.
It can't be that simple.
Tedy was burned much more than my son.
How can this be?
- I'm so glad you came!
- How could I have missed it?
I have your number now.
Pleased to meet you.
I haven't met you yet.
- How hard can I hug you?
- Pretty hard, I'm strong.
- So happy to meet you.
- Same here.
Wow, how cool is that?
Brothers, thank you very much
for being here.
I wanted to...
I felt the need to let you know
what we've been doing.
First of all, for those of you
who still need specialized
treatment abroad,
the Ministry of Health has the funds...
and we've allocated money
for the next two years.
Also...
at the burn hospital...
the intensive care unit,
which treats severe burns,
was completely renovated.
It was stripped down,
and should now meet the standards.
Instead of 12 beds there are now only six.
Each patient will be in a private room,
more isolated,
and hopefully treated better.
Why did the minister of health
at that time send so many patients there?
We were packed in the burns ward.
I shared a bed with another patient.
How could they put so many severe cases
in such an inappropriate location?
That minister's statement,
"We have everything we need",
was unheard of.
No city in Europe could handle
so many burn patients.
They should be taken to intensive care,
and then transferred quickly
to specialized burn centers.
Again, I want to understand
how it was possible
for state authorities,
knowing already what you know now,
how could the state,
through the minister of health,
do such a thing?
What is the state's position today
on what the same state did last year?
It was a political decision.
The political decision was not to pay
for your medical treatment abroad.
And the transfers were delayed
because hospital managers
didn't issue the transfer papers.
No new manager will be hired
in any hospital
until we have drafted
a new manager contract
that will clearly state
the managers' duties.
- Is that your message?
- Yes, and they'll hate me.
I want to know what to tell the press.
How can we put it elegantly?
"The entire selection procedure
is rotten to the core."
Maybe we should say just that.
How about "Taking note
of the deficient hospital management,
and its outcome at the burn unit...
Minister Vlad Voiculescu
has decided to postpone
further calls for managers
until the selection procedure is revised
and a new management contract is drafted."
That having been said,
the minister has decided
that there will be no call for managers
until the completion of the changes,
in the time frame of a few weeks.
The problem is the corruption
of the managers of big hospitals.
That's 14 hospitals
with enormous budgets.
That's our Gordian knot,
it's the place to start.
The members
of a hospitals' administration board
lack any expertise in hospital management
and are appointed politically.
Now, as they organize the selection,
the manager will be...
Eliminating political influences
is impossible.
Therefore, the board
should include two outsiders,
people from outside the system.
Romania totally lacks human resources
for hospital managers.
That's because our public health
management school
is incompetent, corrupt to the core,
and issues countless
management certificates
to people who send bribes
and get their certificate by mail.
This will be like teaching a pig to dance.
We should have reasonable expectations.
The idea is that the pig
shouldn't be the only candidate.
We should create a framework
to allow any manager,
for instance from a French hospital,
to enter the contest
and prove their expertise
according to the law.
Idiot! I'm the manager here! Fuck you!
I gave you your job, you brainless fuck!
Cunt, fix these contracts now! Got it?
- Get the fuck out of here!
- I'm not going anywhere.
Don't feel like doing this?
Then fuck off, all of you!
We have this case, it's really something!
The sources would like
to bring in documents.
Two ladies from the accounting department
of a Bucharest hospital.
- Wow, what an ugly house!
- Built with the hospital's money.
- Which hospital?
- Malaxa.
Dude, is he really a university professor?
Professor Secureanu.
Wanna hear how he talks to the staff?
Stop this shit or fuck off!
Fuck you, I'm the manager.
Stupid cunt, I gave you your job.
Two cars, look.
I think that's him.
No, it's not stopping.
The Benz is stopping here.
Come on, Mr. Secureanu.
That's him. That's the guy, bro.
Look at the face on this guy.
Bloody hell, this guy
is a hospital manager.
This is a list of all suppliers
since this manager first came to Malaxa.
Suppliers and costs.
This is very important.
I marked the dubious ones,
who issue fake invoices
used to steal funds.
He'd just put an invoice on your desk
and say "take care of it"?
Yes. "Pay it, urgently!"
All payment deadlines
were for the next day.
Oprescu, the former mayor,
has built one quarter of his clinic
with our money.
- Which clinic?
- His clinic in Switzerland.
The clinic is there, it's functional.
Built at Swiss standards and all.
That clinic is generating income.
How did the former mayor
get the money from your hospital?
Through the president of the board?
No, those were bribes.
It was done through Alex Ltd...
through Alsa and through Farmvil.
These companies
belong to the former mayor.
Okay. Did you ever estimate
how much hospital money has been stolen?
- This is what I meant to tell you.
- For that money we could have built
a modern, fully equipped hospital
with state-of-the-art technology.
I know what I'm talking about,
because I processed these fake invoices.
Are we talking...
millions?
Millions of euros.
Tens of millions of euros.
Last December, after the tragedy
with those kids at Colectiv,
they stole so much money.
- How so?
- They poured money down the drain!
Down the drain!
Three-year-old acquisition lists,
that no one gave a shit about...
were all approved in December.
And we bought every single item
with no control mechanism,
first come first served.
I feel very guilty about what's going on.
- You understand what I mean.
- We understand.
So your plan is to take this
to the prosecutors?
Yes.
- This is still on?
- Yes, of course!
And you still want us
to first run the story,
so it can't be covered up?
Yes, definitely.
- Nothing can change our mind.
- Great.
Then, the moment we run the story,
you walk
into the Anticorruption Directorate.
The election campaign
has officially started.
On 11 December
we will elect a new Parliament.
For the first time,
diaspora Romanians can vote by mail.
Mobsters don't care about context.
They're mobsters.
To someone who did this,
does it even matter who calls to ask them
to remain silent?
Did he have a plan
for when it falls apart?
Does he have a plan B?
Does he have a bag prepared,
like in the movies,
to pack his gold bars and to flee?
- Does he have a plan B?
- We'll see.
Anticorruption prosecutors
stated that manager Secureanu
has stolen hospital funds in 1075 cases.
The story was published
by journalist Catalin Tolontan
and prosecutors have already
started investigating.
Any moment now,
Manager Secureanu should leave
the Anticorruption Directorate.
That's him.
- Is it your turn to pay, Mr. Secureanu?
- Did you steal hospital money?
Is this your success story?
Open the door!
Secureanu, handcuffed,
leaving the Anticorruption Directorate.
Tomorrow we will pass the emergency bill
regarding hospital managers.
I am not claiming to have reformed
Romanian hospital management
but it's a first step.
The reason we didn't do this earlier
is that we tried to negotiate
with those involved
in order to not end up
with a major conflict.
Moreover, I was repeatedly blocked
by all institutions
that had to approve it.
Most recently
by our distinguished Academy.
It's no secret
that they will try to stop it
by all means,
the bill was already leaked
to their populist news channel.
Yes, they said I wanted to exclude...
Yes, exactly.
Whatever they throw at me,
I'll take as a compliment.
I will explain why this government
wants new hospital managers.
They plan to bring in foreign companies
to take over the Romanian hospitals.
Foreigners will take our profits
to develop their health system,
while we are stuck with these hospitals,
which they would actually like
to close down.
ANTICORRUPTION DIRECTORATE
Hospital employees
would love to blow the whistle
but the health system lacks
a proper control mechanism.
All we can do is have Mr. Dina,
from our control body,
gather post-factum information
in hospitals.
Or, if there are indications,
he can follow up.
The problem is extremely serious.
From people within
the health system I learned
that the Malaxa fraud
was no secret, everyone knew.
And also, that the manager
has friends in high places,
including politicians
that make our health policies.
Half of the hospitals,
in Bucharest and nationwide,
are managed in the same way.
- They are just less outspoken.
- Yes, we know.
Those who reported him
were fed up with his insults and threats.
It's not like they were
fed up with the fraud.
These managers have always
been untouchable.
- They think this can never change.
- It's the same in other areas,
no one ever touched the crooks,
and now they panic.
As soon as we investigate
one of these managers...
our phones start ringing.
We get summoned
by the Parliament Committee
for Investigation of Abuses
and get complaints
that we violate the managers' rights.
We want to launch this before elections.
To sign an agreement
for investigations on the health system.
The cases should end up on your desks
and perhaps it could give it
a better image.
On the other hand,
it might help deter others
from demolishing what we are building now.
That's our plan.
An emergency bill introduced changes
to the hospital management contract.
I invite Minister Vlad Voiculescu
to give you further details.
Most of the changes approved
by the government today
are designed to solve problems
identified by the ministry's control body.
Not just irregularities,
but problems that have been
affecting us all for years,
nepotism, politicization,
conflicts of interests.
For a hospital manager,
only the patient's interests should count.
Therefore, starting today,
hospital managers can no longer hold
leading or administrative positions
in any political party.
We don't want hospitals to be managed
by political interests.
We've had enough of that
during the past 25 years.
And as we all know, our party leaders
always choose hospitals abroad
for their own treatments.
Thank you, Minister. Any questions?
Why are no lung transplants
performed in Romania?
I will gladly give you the details
on another occasion.
Sorry, but last month a patient died
waiting for a transplant.
Your answer is needed urgently...
Fine.
...it can't wait.
We cover lung transplants
for dozens of patients
at the Vienna General Hospital,
where they have proper
infrastructure and expertise.
For €120,000, while in Romania
it would cost 90,000,
according to the manager
of St. Mary's Hospital.
Shouldn't you speed things up
considering that patients
on the waiting list are dying?
It is very simple.
I have a responsibility...
Yes, indeed...
My responsibility
is to ask the right questions
and to make informed decisions.
And if you don't have the answers?
I find it alarming that a minister
claims a hospital
can't provide proper care,
although the manager stated
that the hospital is fully authorized
by the National Transplant Agency.
It is unacceptable when we have a hospital
fully equipped for transplants
and specialized doctors.
How many people lost their chance to live
because of whatever suspicions?
This is a serious problem!
To not allow transplants in Romania
and send patients
somewhere abroad, to Vienna.
Going abroad seems to be the latest cure,
when the same care
could be provided in Romania,
for less money.
Did you mention our suspicions
about the accreditation?
- I had to.
- That's fine.
The head of the Transplant Agency
admitted in here
that he was forced to accredit
St. Mary's Hospital.
He repeated it in my office.
Suspicions are raised
once the head
of the Transplant Agency said that.
Moving on, we drafted the control order.
The control will establish
if the standards for transplant surgery
are met.
As the transplant scandal continues,
the manager of St. Mary's Hospital
has filed a criminal complaint
against the minister of health.
Vlad Voiculescu refuses
to fund transplants,
as the hospital was accredited
without having met
the necessary requirements.
Since the hospital
is under the mayor's authority,
Bucharest mayor Gabriela Firea
responds with an urgent request.
As general mayor
and as a citizen of this country,
I demand that the minister of health
give the green light
for lung transplants.
Surgery must begin tomorrow morning!
Let's have a press conference at 6:00 p.m.
I want to announce the following...
I have major doubts about
the accreditation of St. Mary's Hospital.
I have clear information
it was done under political pressure.
I think that the pressure
from Mayor Firea is outrageous.
Because lives are at risk.
I find it totally irresponsible
that the Social Democrats
are pushing for this.
Good evening, Professor.
Please hold for the minister.
Hold on.
- Good evening, Professor.
- Good evening, Minister.
Look, as the attacks continue,
I have to go public with an answer.
I will say what you have told me
and I wanted to discuss how to phrase it.
I would say that I have information...
that the head of the Transplant Agency
was forced to sign the accreditation.
If I may, Minister,
this could have legal consequences.
That I signed under duress.
Just a quick mention.
Nothing bad has happened yet.
It's a problem that it was accredited,
but there are no effects.
No transplant was done, nobody died.
No, but it will destroy
our agency's credibility.
They will say the agency
is under political influence
and it won't look good to the patients.
All the hopeful patients
who think the agency
is working in their interest...
- That's not a good thing, Minister.
- But it's the truth, isn't it?
It is, but I can't prove it.
- I just gave you some inside information.
- That's not true.
When asked by the Ministry
if the pneumology unit
should be accredited
you answered that the unit was not ready
and it should be evaluated
more thoroughly.
If I admit it,
they will say the agency is gambling
with accreditations.
We can't afford a scandal.
We would have to withdraw
the accreditation.
But that is my point.
If the unit met all standards,
we maintain the accreditation.
If it wasn't done by the book,
we'll obviously withdraw it.
This is obvious to me.
If they don't meet all standards,
we must clearly...
Please don't go public with this.
It could have legal consequences.
- I'll discuss it with my team.
- Please!
I can't promise, but I'll consider it.
Thank you very much!
- Will you have the press conference now?
- Yes, now.
It's here at the ministry,
I am already late.
Okay, thank you. Have a good evening.
The great Professor...
just pissed his pants.
Let's write.
- Okay.
- St. Mary's Clinical Hospital...
Can't provide proper care
after a transplant
because the hospital
doesn't have a pneumology unit,
which is vital and mandatory
for postoperative care.
- Ready?
- Yes.
Start recording.
We have serious suspicions
that St. Mary's Hospital
was accredited under political pressure.
Attacks coming from one side
of the political spectrum
indicate which political party
is behind it.
After it was accredited,
the hospital found
it cannot provide postoperative care
for transplant patients
as the hospital has no pneumology unit.
This unit is essential and mandatory
for post-surgery care.
We decided not to begin transplants
at this hospital
in the patients' best interests,
not against it.
Do you think the Transplant Agency
issued the accreditation illegally?
Okay. Look, it's not my job to give legal
or medical verdicts.
As long as the requirements are not met,
we can't make such political propaganda,
"Wouldn't it be nice to perform
lung transplants in Romania."
We are talking about people's lives
and a tragedy can occur at any time.
It's that simple.
Do you need help with this?
If it has sugar it's perfect.
- One or two?
- One, please.
Not sure how I should say this...
The way a state functions
can crush people sometimes.
You all got the full blow
of a dysfunctional state,
its corruption and its health system.
And I've learned, since I've been here...
that it's not just the minister
who sets the tone.
Everything underneath is rotten.
It's rotten. 90 percent of everything
in this ministry is deeply...
- Outdated?
- To say the least.
It's profoundly corrupt, demotivated...
They don't give a fuck
about anything out there.
That's why we're terrified
of what these elections might bring.
If people don't go and vote,
the Social Democrats will win a majority
and together
with other retrograde parties...
they will try to turn things around,
to how it was before.
Because that's the world they can own.
And given political developments
worldwide...
Look, "Mayor Firea at war
with the technocrats."
The minister must approve the funding
for lung transplants
that we need to make in Romania,
in Bucharest, at St. Mary's Hospital.
Instead, he takes the lungs,
not personally, but through employees,
and sends the Romanian lungs abroad.
These lungs were not good
for Romanian patients
on the transplant waiting list.
He exports them to Vienna,
where he used to work.
Tell me, we have an accredited hospital,
up to European standards,
we invested millions of euros,
but a minister who worked in Austria
sends all the lungs
and patients to Austria!
I think Romanians
can draw their own conclusions.
Election day. Around 19 million Romanians
are expected at the polls until 9:00 p.m.
As usual,
politicians were among the first voters.
Hi, Mom!
- Thank you.
- Thank you. Have a nice day.
By the end of the day we will know
where Romania is headed.
This will depend on everyone's vote,
and on the turnout.
After six months
at the Ministry of Health...
I can say that with courage,
and with the right people,
things can change.
I believe...
Everybody should vote.
Brothers, go vote!
Hundreds of patients
voted from their hospital beds.
An extra reason for you to vote.
Even patients fresh out of surgery
wanted to participate.
Only five percent of voters
aged between 18 and 24 went to vote.
Of those aged between 28 and 34,
ten percent went to vote.
With 99 percent of votes counted,
the situation is very clear,
the Social Democratic Party
has won the election.
They won in 34 counties,
almost everywhere.
For the first time,
they won the majority in Transylvania
and even in Brasov.
Here is the platform
that won these elections
for the Social Democrats
with an unprecedented majority,
zero tax for doctors
and for those working in IT,
regardless of income.
The 16 percent general income tax
will go down to ten percent.
- Hello.
- Hi, Dad! What's up?
I had low expectations,
but the results are crushing!
This is something...
The Social Democrats...
This is their biggest majority in history!
How can this be, Son?
Good question!
It's like we are living
in separate worlds!
Those who comment online are a minority,
- only ten-20 percent!
- Yes, the ten-15 percent.
What are you still doing here?
This country won't wake up
30 years from now!
History tells us
it takes more than decades.
They are hopeless!
This won't change in five-ten years.
By the time you'll retire,
it will still be the same!
Move back to Vienna! I am serious!
You're working in vain!
From there at least
you can help sick people, people in need.
Here, to try and wake up the people.
It's heart-breaking!
Bye, Dad!
I am wondering...
if any of the measures I took will last.
Fuck!
Come on already, Mirela!
There's a lot more work waiting.
For fuck's sake!
Please tell him. It's important!
Tell him, let him hear it.
About Secureanu?
- About the warning we got.
- I was approached by someone
from within the intelligence services.
That we should now be
more careful, for our families.
- The message was off the record.
- Off the record.
That we came across...
What did he call it?
"You came across a nest
of unscrupulous mobsters."
We don't know who they are,
which ones could be
the unscrupulous mobsters.
Secureanu is one for sure.
Freemasons, secret agents,
intelligence, who knows...
Pseudo-agents...
Who are dumb enough...
to try and hurt us through our families.
Anyway...
big money...
maybe the former mayor and his gang?
Okay, here's today's story.
Mayor Firea just appointed
a Social Democrat manager,
who isn't legally allowed
to manage a hospital,
in charge of 19 hospitals
with a total budget of 230 million euros.
Yes?
Happy holidays!
- Merry Christmas!
- Merry Christmas!
May you be healthy and happy together.
Enjoy that wonderful girl of yours.
Thank you! Same to you!
- How are you?
- We're on our way to the cemetery.
I see...
Okay, then, Narcis.
God bless. Take care, bye.
Someone's at his grave.
Don't cry, Mother.
Cheers, Son.
That's his.
You know this song.
a fire breaks out
during a concert
in the Colectiv club in Bucharest.
It instantly kills 27 young people
and injures another 180.
Outraged by the fact that the popular club
was functioning without fire exits,
people take to the streets
against the corrupt authorities.
Massive nationwide protests force the
Social Democratic government to resign.
To calm the people's fury
a politically independent government
of technocrats is appointed.
It receives a one-year mandate,
until the next general elections.
37 more burn victims
die in hospitals during the four months
after the Colectiv fire.
I lost a loved one, Madalina.
It is tragic and painful for all of us.
Unfortunately, our health system...
is rotten.
How could people who escaped the fire...
still die in hospitals 12 days later?
Good afternoon.
My son...
On the 4th, the Vienna General Hospital
agreed to take my son.
They refused to sign...
The Bucharest Hospital
refused to sign off on his transfer.
The hospital's management, that is.
When he finally arrived in Vienna
on the evening of the 7th...
bacteria had infected his entire body.
We asked why they foolishly delayed
his transfer? And they answered,
"A communication error".
A communication error killed my son.
My name is Laurentiu Istrate.
I am the father
of one of the young people...
who died after 13 days of agony
in a Bucharest hospital.
The authorities lied to us,
and failed to transfer them abroad...
in time, where they could have been saved.
Maybe not all of them would have lived.
But surely we wouldn't have had
another 37 die after the fire.
I am Catalin Tolontan,
from the Sports Gazette.
The media and the public
were told that authorities
were managing the situation impeccably
and providing the best
medical care possible.
- Did they tell you the same thing?
- Yes.
So you were as confident as we were?
All hospitals gave
the same standard answer.
"We have everything we need.
Your children are being treated
better than in Germany."
- Same as their public statement.
- Yes.
The same answer was given to us personally
by the minister of health at that time.
Fuck all your wicked corruption!
It's been there since our inception
But we couldn't see
All the times we've felt so hollow
As our hopes were hanged in gallows
All this time we've been locked away
And there was nothing left to say
Until today!
Cheers!
To all of us!
Thank you very much
for being here tonight.
Something's on fire here.
That's not part of the show.
Is there a fire extinguisher?
Easy, easy!
Get out!
The Romanian government sends
its condolences to the victims' families.
Every effort is being made
to save those who are hospitalized.
At present,
all medical needs are being met.
I assure you that everything
that could be done in Germany
is being done here for all of them.
Eighty to 90 patients are in severe
or critical condition.
We have all the conditions
to provide the best medical care
at European standards.
COLLECTIVE
The identity of our sources
is sacred to us.
- We wouldn't put anybody in danger.
- Right.
What can I tell you...
they were all killed
by various bacterial infections.
The pyocyanic bacteria
are the most aggressive.
That's what they are hiding.
- Hospital infections?
- Yes.
- So infections killed them?
- Yes.
Did bacteria cause deaths
in other hospitals as well?
Yes. Our hospitals are not safe
for burn patients.
Once infected with this,
they don't stand a chance.
- Really?
- Within only 48 hours, one of my patients
was infected with two different bacteria.
If we remain silent we are complicit.
As doctors you can't be forced
to act against your conscience, right?
Facts are facts,
the burn patients were kept
in a known septic environment
and exposed to some of the most resistant
hospital bacteria in Europe.
That's a fact.
Hospitals that could not treat
severe burn patients
were forced to do it
and the doctors had
to improvise on their treatment.
Have you heard of any problems
with the disinfectants used in hospitals?
That they were of poor quality?
Look!
When he brings the next bag
I'll move the car a bit.
There's another one!
Hexio-B.
It's Hexio-B. I'll check labels
to see which is which.
- See, they have different labels.
- One is black, one is white...
- What is this?
- This is the Hexi Pharma factory.
- Our sources' workplace?
- Yes.
And they produce disinfectants
for 350 hospitals?
That's the place, yes.
Go on.
- We took a photo of this guy...
- Skip that.
- Were they carrying disinfectants?
- Yes.
They loaded them in this car.
- Did you get the owner?
- Yes, we waited for hours.
- This is the owner's car.
- A Porsche.
- Okay. Is that him inside?
- It's him.
- A doctor.
- Let's see his face.
After we took the first photos
I called the sources, "Is this the one?"
They said it’s him. It's Dan Condrea.
This is the guy.
Okay. So here's the idea,
a Romanian producer
provides hospitals with disinfectants...
that are diluted.
Diluted to various degrees,
depending on the product.
What did your first source say exactly?
That the disinfectants' active ingredients
are diluted.
- They don't match...
- Is that the first thing he said?
He showed me these production formulas
and said "Take a look
at the active ingredients.
We use 60 kg for 600 kg of disinfectant.
That's ten percent.
Now, look at the label on the product.
it says it contains 15 percent."
Same for this one.
Your source says the formula
wasn't changed
- even after the fire at Colectiv?
- Yes, he said,
"This isn't killing bacteria.
It's killing people."
The second source said the same,
"I'm not a murderer.
I have deaths on my conscience."
That's why he left the company.
How did Hexi Pharma advertise?
One thousand clients,
2,000 operating rooms, 140,000 hands...
- Two thousand operating rooms?
- Yes.
So, 2,000 operating rooms...
are using diluted disinfectants.
Could they be...
so wicked as to feed us fake documents?
I'll tell you what many readers
will ask...
"Take the products to a lab,
have them tested."
ICHECHIM LABORATORY ANALYSIS DEPARTMENT
I can't comment.
It's not my area of expertise...
I understand, but it's frightening.
...to say if these
disinfectants alone contributed...
Well...
- Should she sign for these results?
- No.
CHEMISTRY AND LIFE
I just don't get it.
How can they dilute it ten times?
On the one hand
I wanted it confirmed...
Do you realize we've all been exposed,
while in hospital?
In the hospitals they dilute it again,
maybe also use it improperly.
That's the thing,
they dilute it more than recommended.
No wonder pyocyanic bacteria
were found in the sterilization tanks.
Now I get it.
The surgeon thinks it takes
30 minutes to disinfect the scalpel,
but the cleaned scalpels
carry pyocyanic bacteria.
Guys, we got them!
Suprasept, for instance,
is diluted ten times.
These are the substances
used in operating rooms.
That's what the hospitals used
for the Colectiv fire victims.
St. John's Hospital, Pantelimon Hospital,
the burn hospital,
and where they were not used,
Hexi Pharma donated them.
The Romanian state failed to ensure
the citizens' safety
to the point where this madman,
or murderer, was allowed to...
- Our first thought was to run the test!
- Exactly!
It's the first thing that came to mind!
Exactly, to see if what's on the label
matches what's in the bottle.
And the state didn't even think
to verify it just once!
To check on this madman,
who got into every hospital.
Just once, to check this stuff
used by all hospitals!
Let's split the pages.
- Do you have a headache?
- No.
Let's call the minister of health.
- It's almost 6:00 p.m.
- Already?
The Remorse of a Factory Employee
Considering what we're about to publish,
it's a problem
if the minister won't comment.
Hexi Pharma signed 796 contracts with
various hospitals in the past nine years.
Dear Minister,
I am Catalin Tolontan, journalist.
We need your statement on the discovery...
The state didn't do anything.
DISINFECTANT DILUTED TEN TIMES!
We are back live.
The Ministry of Health
will begin to examine
disinfectants used in hospitals,
after the Sports Gazette's
investigation revealed
that two products
used to disinfect operation rooms
were diluted up to ten times.
Biological bomb in Romanian hospitals.
Disinfectants used in thousands
of operating rooms are ineffective.
The minister of health can't explain
and has just begun investigating.
I have ordered investigations
by public health departments
across the country.
A total of 208 hospitals were controlled.
Samples were taken from nightstands,
headboards and hallways.
Suspicion is directed
at Hexi Pharma products
after journalist Catalin Tolontan
stated they were defective.
When the fire started,
the crowd ran towards the exit.
Desperate to escape,
people trampled on each other.
Following the Colectiv fire,
64 people lost their lives.
Next to me is journalist Catalin Tolontan,
who investigated this tragedy
that led to a change of government.
I have this document...
to show to the audience
of the public television.
This number here,
1.17 percent is the concentration
of the active ingredient
in the disinfectant.
The label says it should contain
12 percent. It is diluted ten times.
And we face the most
dangerous hospital bacteria in Europe.
Clearly, it was
an institutional lie at state level
propagated through all
communication channels,
that everything was done perfectly,
that hospital conditions were ideal,
"like in Germany".
That was the statement, "like in Germany".
We have blindly trusted the authorities.
Myself included, as a journalist.
I've said this many times,
when the press bows down
to the authorities,
the authorities will mistreat
the citizens.
This always happens, worldwide,
and it has happened to us.
MINISTRY OF HEALTH
Good afternoon, Minister.
Good afternoon.
Our main...
Our main responsibility
is the safety of our patients.
It is our duty to investigate
any suspected threat
to our patients' safety.
In this context, I will present
the sanitation test results.
We have tested surfaces, hands and objects
to determine if the product
was effective
in destroying microorganisms.
In over 95 percent of cases...
it appeared they tested well.
Less than five percent failed the test.
Given the circumstances
and the measures we've taken...
I consider that our patients
are in no danger at this moment.
We still don't have an answer
regarding the concentration
of active ingredients in disinfectants.
The investigation is ongoing.
For people to feel safe,
you should announce the measures taken
in the hospitals
where tests revealed problems.
We took all the measures,
according to the law.
For what bacteria
were the disinfectant tested?
- Which bacteria get killed by them?
- We don't test for bacteria.
We test if anything grows
after the disinfection.
- Not "anything", sorry!
- Here's a paper that says otherwise.
Received today from the Bucharest
Public Health Department.
It says here that nine Bucharest hospitals
conducted tests in their labs
and only tested for four bacteria.
The procedure was the following,
hospitals staff made their own inspection.
Let me be clear.
These tests are objective
and backed by evidence...
- Still very subjective!
- Maybe, but backed by evidence
as all tests were done by accredited labs.
These tests were conducted
by the same people,
suspected of professional misconduct.
The people who purchased
these disinfectants
without any quality control.
They and they alone
are accredited to do this.
Should we bring extra-terrestrials
to run the tests, dear sir?
Until proven guilty...
I cannot make accusations
against any company.
I can't use as evidence
tests that were done by unaccredited labs.
- So it's a fake crisis?
- Let's not call it a "crisis".
Such a press campaign
won't solve the problem.
The disinfectants are effective
in 95 percent of cases.
For the remaining five percent
I have ordered measures
which will ensure our patients' safety.
It doesn't match.
The ICU death rate is at 90 percent
because of hospital infections.
Catalin Tolontan
from the Sports Gazette speaking.
You probably know why I'm calling.
It's about the problems
with biocides used in hospitals.
Their dilution, and more.
I know you discussed this
with Intelligence Service agents.
And they knew about it.
If it's confidential, I'll respect that.
A long time ago, yes.
Around ten years ago, right?
Do you remember
how the Intelligence Service reacted
to what you told them ten years ago?
Several colleagues are working on it.
We're doing our best.
Yes, that's true.
Thank you very much, Professor.
Have a nice evening.
Mirela!
Did he admit it?
There's this man...
who's given the Intelligence Service
dozens of briefings since 2008.
Along with thousands of pages
of documentation.
He sent us a few dozen,
and sent them thousands, over the years.
He was contacted first by two agents...
and later on by their pharma experts.
At some point he had to tell them,
"We've been talking for years
and you never did anything."
They told him that their reports
got stuck somewhere.
"Where?"
They wouldn't tell him
if inside or outside the Service.
Even before publishing
we wondered if the Service knew about it.
This man was telling them for eight years
that it's murder,
that it kills people in hospitals.
- Do you think people understand this?
- Yes!
If a loved one died or suffered from this,
you'd go crazy.
The story is so mind-blowing,
I am afraid we'll look crazy.
Why should we look crazy?
I told them it was a disaster,
it was killing people.
Intelligence issued 100 briefings
"including on hospital infections"
Briefing sent to the Intelligence Service
Intelligence Service knew
about the diluted Hexi products
and the rigged tender.
It's fine. Let me send you one more thing.
Healthcare for all! Not just for mobsters!
Healthcare for all! Not just for mobsters!
I AM THE 5%
#CORRUPTIONKILLS
Respect to the Romanian journalists
who remained honest!
Applause for the journalists
who uncovered this story!
Tolontan! Tolontan! Tolontan!
Tolontan! Tolontan! Tolontan!
The best investigations
are made by a sports daily!
That's the state of our press.
- Indifference...
- ...kills!
Dilute corruption! Dilute corruption!
Resign! Resign! Resign! Resign!
The Intelligence Service confirms
that between 2011-2016
they sent 115 briefings
regarding hospital infections.
The documents mentioned
poor-quality disinfectants
used in hospitals nationwide.
The briefings were sent to the president,
the prime minister,
to health ministers...
Following street protests
and the tense healthcare situation,
the prime minister
called in the healthcare management
and stated that healthcare is now
the government's number one priority.
We are waiting for the conclusions
on today's meeting.
State secretaries
from the Ministry of Health
and the defense minister
arrived a short while ago.
This morning I talked
to Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos.
Our different perspectives
has led to my decision to resign.
I am part of the healthcare system...
and I want the system to improve.
I have put all my good intentions into it.
- Thank you.
- Minister, no questions?
Goodbye and good luck!
This government had promised a dialogue!
His problems were clear from the start.
He was a hospital manager
before he was minister.
His actions and decisions as minister
were contaminated
by his memories as manager of a hospital
that used Hexi Pharma products.
That's not a crime as such,
as they are used by 350 hospitals.
The police have started investigations
at three Hexi Pharma facilities.
Dan Condrea, the owner of Hexi Pharma,
came personally to open the doors
for the police.
Will you cooperate with the police?
No comment?
The offshore company is called Hatom Ltd.
When I get the data from Cyprus,
I'm sure I'll find him or his wife.
Look here!
Represented by Dan Alexandru Condrea.
Fuck him!
He can't hide that it's his.
Fine. We also got hold of...
- These are bank statements from Cyprus.
- Yes, his bank statements.
I know how to get more of these.
- Do you also have cash withdrawals?
- We have all we need.
- Then you'd see the flow of money.
- We have enough.
We have evidence
that he buys his ingredients
at seven times the price.
His offshore company buys at market price
and sells the ingredients
for seven times more to Hexi Pharma.
- They overcharge Hexi.
- Yes.
And he moves money offshore
and can use it for bribes.
Classic offshore fraud scheme.
Yes, the offshore company
gets the big money.
Black money he uses to bribe
the health system,
for business advantages.
Speaking of bribes,
we need to figure this out.
Out of 100 epidemiologists,
80 were in his pocket!
We are back live.
Dan Alexandru Condrea,
the owner of Hexi Pharma,
arrived
at the General Prosecutor's office.
Did your company dilute the disinfectants?
Dan Alexandru Condrea
entering the Prosecutor's Office.
A criminal investigation is underway
regarding
the probably diluted disinfectants
used in Romanian hospitals.
The investigation...
Tests for Hexi Pharma disinfectants
will be ready tomorrow.
The government ran the tests
at ICECHIM, the only specialized lab,
which, however, is not accredited.
Good afternoon.
We will announce the first set of results.
Discrepancies were noted
between the declared concentration
and the measured concentration.
For instance, Glutaraldehyde
measured 1.23 percent
instead of the declared 12 percent.
Iodine measured 7.41 percent
instead of the declared ten percent
concentration in active ingredients.
This basically applies
to all Hexi Pharma disinfectants.
Please use the microphone.
Catalin Tolontan from the Sports Gazette.
How many of the tested disinfectants
are diluted?
All of them.
- All are diluted?
- Yes.
Every tested product.
- Again, all products are diluted?
- Yes.
Could you then explain the five percent
announced last week
by the minister of health?
That's an entirely different topic,
the five percent.
- Look, I'm not an epidemiologist...
- But you are a doctor.
I'm asking you as a doctor,
not as state secretary.
Could 14 diluted products...
possibly be 95 percent efficient,
in sanitation tests?
Sanitation tests reveal bacteria
remaining on hands and surfaces
that had been cleaned...
- With Hexi Pharma!
- No.
- Oh, yes!
- Will you let me finish?
Cleaned with a disinfectant.
So these 14 products that are all diluted,
were found 95 percent efficient
in sanitation tests.
We ran chemical tests,
not sanitation tests,
and the results were bad.
Any correlation with what happened before
is as irrelevant
as talking about previous tests.
What were the risks for the patient
if a surgeon's hands were disinfected
with this product?
If the active ingredient
was supposed to be 25 percent
but this test shows it's 0.01 percent.
There is some risk
but we don't operate without gloves.
When you picked up the results,
- how did you feel, as a doctor?
- Let's not talk feelings here.
How does a doctor react to this?
We have stated our position
without involving emotions.
Thank you for your attention.
Once we have new information
or new decisions,
we'll let you know.
We hope the prosecutors
will call to account those responsible.
Starting with the diluted disinfectants.
Our healthcare system
is "diluting" public money
into invisible pockets
and they cover up for each other
while patients are suffering.
When moderating comments,
remove "let's hang them"
and "shoot them all" and such.
If they say "it's genocide," no problem,
but let's not incite violence, please!
A lot of comments will be like
"kill them, skin them alive!"
This could be suicide
or just a car crash
that killed Condrea,
the owner of Hexi Pharma.
Murder is however not ruled out.
Please, move back!
- Move back and film from over there.
- Is the investigation over?
If not, why did you remove the car?
It was difficult,
as the body was disfigured.
His ID was found in the car,
but his wife had to identify the body.
I don't know.
We knew he was under surveillance.
- I changed the title for the blog.
- Okay.
His ex-wife declared,
"He wasn't the type to kill himself,
rather the type to kill someone.
If it's suicide, they pushed him."
CONDREA DEAD!
HIS SECRETS ARE OUR WOUNDS!
Yes, Mirela.
Everybody's gone crazy.
They all believe
the mafia state killed him.
Why the hell was he still free?
We're not the only ones,
everyone's asking!
They only had to nail Condrea
to make him talk,
get him to confess
and demand a list of 50 accomplices...
who he bribed within the health system.
- And offer him a deal.
- Exactly.
Is there any source we haven't called,
anyone who might know something?
That's right,
just squeeze it right underneath it.
It will come through the leg, so...
And just lift it up slightly.
And open.
Then rise up.
- Yeah.
- And that's it.
You doing that?
Yeah.
So you can just move your thumb round.
Position it. Yep.
Keep it open.
And don't...
No, keep it open and relaxed.
Okay. I'll let you move forward
and just practice.
Good girl.
Good.
Mom...
Hello.
That's it.
My mom is crying.
I was gonna say, it will be emotional
for your mum to see.
Good afternoon. I am Vlad.
As of Friday afternoon,
I am minister of health.
Thank you for being here.
I've known many of you
for quite some time.
From back when I was
a patients' rights activist.
I am now in charge of this system
which undoubtedly needs improvement.
To make it more truthful,
more transparent and more solid,
I'll need your support.
I'll need allies. The first thing to do
in order to regain trust
is to stop lying.
When will we see test results
for other brands?
We will perform sanitation tests
on all disinfectants used in hospitals.
The results will be made public
immediately.
Two weeks ago,
the state secretary for health
publicly promised to test the composition
of other disinfectant brands.
For Hexi Pharma,
hospitals made their own sanitation tests
and all results were good.
And now you're starting
sanitation tests again?
The same inspection that failed before?
Well...
Some legal issues need to be clarified
for the sanitation inspection
to be truly relevant.
In a few days,
once this problem is solved,
I will give you further details.
"Germs spread in three ways
as regards hospital infections.
This one is personal hygiene
and environment.
Under Council of Europe recommendations,
every three to four years,
member states must report
on the hospital infections situation."
We have reported it, it was deplorable.
The most deplorable in the EU?
The estimated death toll
is 12,000 per year.
Just the reported ones.
Many patients leave hospitals
carrying the bacteria,
but without symptoms.
Want to read this?
The lady is waiting outside for an answer.
My goodness! Yes.
Should she wait?
Give me until tomorrow.
Tolontan wrote...
"On some questions,
Minister I-am-Vlad simply screwed up."
Don't mind him.
I think tonight
we don't have to mince words
on this widely publicized topic,
the biggest scandal of the past years.
Let's also discuss the investigations
of the health system.
Hexi Pharma was no accident.
In other words, could they have done it
by themselves, alone?
For instance, at the Municipal Hospital
in Craiova,
manager Alice Gavrila
bought 180 litres of Suprasept
at 28 Lei per litre
and 1010 litres of the same disinfectant
practically, six times more,
at 38 Lei per litre.
So when she buys more, the price goes up.
We can't just ignore these facts.
We're talking about a system.
Do you think it was possible
for Condrea to bribe...
Not Condrea personally,
the system he created.
- Okay, his team, whatever.
- Yes, it was possible.
Was it possible to bribe
300 hospital managers?
Managers and staff handling acquisitions.
- More than 300 people?
- Absolutely!
- Why else is there panic now?
- What panic?
Panic in hospitals.
Panic of hospital managers.
You are always very vehement.
Vehement and accusing.
When the whole country becomes hysterical
and people refuse to enter hospitals,
afraid of infections,
when someone commits suicide
because of this intense context...
- So you know why Condrea killed himself?
- Sorry?
- You know why Condrea killed himself?
- I suppose he was depressed.
Trying to place blame for a suicide,
an act so intimately related
to a person's inner state,
that is hard to know...
A press investigation
has sent a man to his grave.
No, it wasn't the investigation
that killed him.
This is a distorted interpretation
of an act too painful and intimate
to be judged by others.
- If you are blaming us for his suicide...
- I didn't.
- You said the press investigation...
- The pressure.
Maybe he felt guilty for experimenting
on 300 Romanian hospitals.
The company has been doing this
from the beginning,
not for just two-three years.
What they did has a name,
it's called an experiment.
In science, this is called an experiment.
But it's done in a laboratory,
not nationwide in 300 hospitals
risking the lives
of 3.8 million patients every year.
Let's recap.
All you write about the health system
is terrifying.
What's your goal?
My son was my first critic,
using almost the same words
about my reports on the Colectiv tragedy.
"Let the doctors do their job
and don't disturb them
- with such disclosures."
- What did you answer your child?
That it's my profession,
however disturbing.
Two months later, my own conclusion
was that our silence during
the first days after the fire
allowed the authorities to lie to us.
There is no final goal, I think,
in this profession.
All I'm trying
is to give people,
after this discussion tonight,
more knowledge
about the powers
that shape our lives.
If the prosecutor is investigating Hexi,
why do we still have
to test Hexi products?
I have a clear answer,
Hexi is still on the market.
It's temporarily blocked
in hospital storehouses...
We still have Hexi Pharma products
in hospitals.
- But for a different reason.
- Because we can't test them.
- It's unacceptable! The state...
- You're jumping to conclusions!
They can't be withdrawn because by law
only the company can withdraw the products
but the company can't issue
corrective invoices
because the court blocked
its bank accounts.
Okay.
Somehow, in this country...
in any sane society, a harmful product
gets withdrawn immediately.
This is a harmful product!
We should draft a law, if there isn't one.
To indict someone, prosecutors must run
their own tests.
I don't care where,
that's not the ministry's concern.
- It's the prosecutor’s concern.
- Exactly!
Let's leave Hexi Pharma
to the prosecutors.
Let's stop dealing with them.
The Ministry of Health
should wait for a verdict.
How can we legally prohibit...
What's our solution for these biocides?
- We don't know.
- Ask Elena, ask Gabi!
Should I give a solution?
Neither you nor your advisors
should provide solutions.
Solutions should come
from the ministry staff
who are specialists in that domain
and you can approve or reject them.
There are a lot of biocides on the market
that don't comply
with European regulations.
Whose job is it
to take them off the market?
Who approved them?
Let's investigate it! Who approved them?
Why? Who drafted the criteria
for approving them?
And shouldn't this committee have realized
that it went wrong, and changed it?
I'm not kidding. In writing.
An official address
to ask for an explanation.
It should have been done a long time ago.
Who was responsible for biocides?
I mean it! Let's fire them all.
Cut this part,
the doctor's voice can be heard.
- These maggots can be removed, right?
- Of course!
You filmed it one day
after you heard about it.
Burn patients should be bathed daily.
It means he hadn't been bathed since...
Doctor, have you sent this video
to anyone else?
No, to nobody.
I realized, as I told you before...
they know everything...
and still do nothing.
The minister of health...
I don't know his reasons.
What is the solution?
I would shut down this hospital.
There's pyocyanic infection,
resistant to all antibiotics...
and deaths caused
by inaccurate blood transfusions.
- Why wait longer? What could change?
- And maggots!
What can be changed?
What else needs to happen
for things to change?
Aren't you afraid, Doctor?
We won't disclose your identity, okay?
Not only are people dying in ICU,
they're dying covered in maggots.
Maggots are growing on patients.
Everyone is waiting to hear
what the fuck you will do.
How many will the ministry let die
before doing something?
This will be the question.
The minister's press conference
starts at 11:00.
People are dying,
everyone's expecting measures.
We can only take radical measures.
But radical measures
aren't taken under pressure
and in haste. Closing down the hospital
is irresponsible!
We must relocate the burns unit!
The only reason that hospital still exists
is the medical staff working there.
And the fact that no other hospital
can take in burn patients,
you must say this.
Yes, there are staff that know
how to treat burn patients.
Did the patient with the maggots die?
I don't know, but we should find out.
Sorry to bother you,
who is the patient in the video?
I understand he is not severely burned.
Okay.
I have to hang up now.
Thank you very much.
That man died, actually.
Last night.
Let me begin by expressing
my deepest regret...
for the burn hospital patient's case.
This press conference
is about the burn hospital.
That hospital is in a serious state...
and not just since recently.
The situation has been known
at least since the Colectiv fire.
But nothing has been done to improve it.
Leaving aside severe management failures
the only reasonable solution...
is to relocate the hospital.
Minister, it seems medical procedures
were not followed.
If patients had maggots, no one cleaned
or disinfected their burns.
Aren't the medical staff responsible
for the patients?
Maggots don't grow suddenly,
or in an hour...
I can only agree with you.
But I want to point out
that we cannot blame the entire staff.
This is the only hospital
with specialized personnel
- for severe burns.
- If there's an explosion now,
where would the victims be treated?
Abroad. We lack the capacity,
even five burn patients
would be a serious problem
for our country. And this is unacceptable.
- Thank you very much.
- Thank you.
I honestly had the feeling
that you knew what was going on
and weren't going to do anything.
You know?
Yes, the level of trust
is very low on all sides.
Of course it is.
Also, when you gave Tolontan that video,
that wasn't the normal thing to do.
I understand perfectly,
because for years, for decades,
things have been covered up.
So, I understand,
but it's not the normal thing to do.
When I complained
to the hospital manager,
he responded in writing
that complaints should be addressed
to my direct boss.
That is, to the head of department who,
after the Colectiv fire,
declared that we had
the best medical conditions.
While our patients were dying away.
As they are now.
The last victim in our hospital,
Boghian Roxana...
who survived till December, the poor girl,
had pyocyanic bacteria even in her ears.
- A Colectiv patient?
- Yes.
Even in her ears.
She only had burns on ten-15 percent
of her body.
She surely didn't die of airway burns.
You know, they cover patients' faces
with sheets.
To not have to see them.
I went in and asked, "What are you doing?
They're not dead!
How dare you cover their faces?"
They folded a piece of sheet
and covered their faces.
They wake up,
they open their eyes onto a sheet!
This is the situation,
and they just don't care.
Doctors bribe their superiors
to be assigned to...
- What, they bribe...
- Doctors bribe the head of surgery
in order to be assigned
to the operating rooms
where patients give more bribes
to the doctors.
Got it?
How the hell can all this be solved?
How did hospitals get so bad? And doctors?
It's their humanity, after all.
Well, as my mother put it,
we're no longer human.
We doctors, we're no longer human beings.
We only care about money.
Uncover this one.
How is your life after the Colectiv fire?
I am working with an NGO,
I am trying to divide my effort
between my own recovery
and helping out others.
Do you hold a grudge for what happened?
No, I am not able to hold a grudge.
Where do you find the strength to go on
when you look in the mirror and know
that someone is guilty,
and you didn't deserve this?
I have no choice,
the only way is forward, and up.
It can't be that simple.
Tedy was burned much more than my son.
How can this be?
- I'm so glad you came!
- How could I have missed it?
I have your number now.
Pleased to meet you.
I haven't met you yet.
- How hard can I hug you?
- Pretty hard, I'm strong.
- So happy to meet you.
- Same here.
Wow, how cool is that?
Brothers, thank you very much
for being here.
I wanted to...
I felt the need to let you know
what we've been doing.
First of all, for those of you
who still need specialized
treatment abroad,
the Ministry of Health has the funds...
and we've allocated money
for the next two years.
Also...
at the burn hospital...
the intensive care unit,
which treats severe burns,
was completely renovated.
It was stripped down,
and should now meet the standards.
Instead of 12 beds there are now only six.
Each patient will be in a private room,
more isolated,
and hopefully treated better.
Why did the minister of health
at that time send so many patients there?
We were packed in the burns ward.
I shared a bed with another patient.
How could they put so many severe cases
in such an inappropriate location?
That minister's statement,
"We have everything we need",
was unheard of.
No city in Europe could handle
so many burn patients.
They should be taken to intensive care,
and then transferred quickly
to specialized burn centers.
Again, I want to understand
how it was possible
for state authorities,
knowing already what you know now,
how could the state,
through the minister of health,
do such a thing?
What is the state's position today
on what the same state did last year?
It was a political decision.
The political decision was not to pay
for your medical treatment abroad.
And the transfers were delayed
because hospital managers
didn't issue the transfer papers.
No new manager will be hired
in any hospital
until we have drafted
a new manager contract
that will clearly state
the managers' duties.
- Is that your message?
- Yes, and they'll hate me.
I want to know what to tell the press.
How can we put it elegantly?
"The entire selection procedure
is rotten to the core."
Maybe we should say just that.
How about "Taking note
of the deficient hospital management,
and its outcome at the burn unit...
Minister Vlad Voiculescu
has decided to postpone
further calls for managers
until the selection procedure is revised
and a new management contract is drafted."
That having been said,
the minister has decided
that there will be no call for managers
until the completion of the changes,
in the time frame of a few weeks.
The problem is the corruption
of the managers of big hospitals.
That's 14 hospitals
with enormous budgets.
That's our Gordian knot,
it's the place to start.
The members
of a hospitals' administration board
lack any expertise in hospital management
and are appointed politically.
Now, as they organize the selection,
the manager will be...
Eliminating political influences
is impossible.
Therefore, the board
should include two outsiders,
people from outside the system.
Romania totally lacks human resources
for hospital managers.
That's because our public health
management school
is incompetent, corrupt to the core,
and issues countless
management certificates
to people who send bribes
and get their certificate by mail.
This will be like teaching a pig to dance.
We should have reasonable expectations.
The idea is that the pig
shouldn't be the only candidate.
We should create a framework
to allow any manager,
for instance from a French hospital,
to enter the contest
and prove their expertise
according to the law.
Idiot! I'm the manager here! Fuck you!
I gave you your job, you brainless fuck!
Cunt, fix these contracts now! Got it?
- Get the fuck out of here!
- I'm not going anywhere.
Don't feel like doing this?
Then fuck off, all of you!
We have this case, it's really something!
The sources would like
to bring in documents.
Two ladies from the accounting department
of a Bucharest hospital.
- Wow, what an ugly house!
- Built with the hospital's money.
- Which hospital?
- Malaxa.
Dude, is he really a university professor?
Professor Secureanu.
Wanna hear how he talks to the staff?
Stop this shit or fuck off!
Fuck you, I'm the manager.
Stupid cunt, I gave you your job.
Two cars, look.
I think that's him.
No, it's not stopping.
The Benz is stopping here.
Come on, Mr. Secureanu.
That's him. That's the guy, bro.
Look at the face on this guy.
Bloody hell, this guy
is a hospital manager.
This is a list of all suppliers
since this manager first came to Malaxa.
Suppliers and costs.
This is very important.
I marked the dubious ones,
who issue fake invoices
used to steal funds.
He'd just put an invoice on your desk
and say "take care of it"?
Yes. "Pay it, urgently!"
All payment deadlines
were for the next day.
Oprescu, the former mayor,
has built one quarter of his clinic
with our money.
- Which clinic?
- His clinic in Switzerland.
The clinic is there, it's functional.
Built at Swiss standards and all.
That clinic is generating income.
How did the former mayor
get the money from your hospital?
Through the president of the board?
No, those were bribes.
It was done through Alex Ltd...
through Alsa and through Farmvil.
These companies
belong to the former mayor.
Okay. Did you ever estimate
how much hospital money has been stolen?
- This is what I meant to tell you.
- For that money we could have built
a modern, fully equipped hospital
with state-of-the-art technology.
I know what I'm talking about,
because I processed these fake invoices.
Are we talking...
millions?
Millions of euros.
Tens of millions of euros.
Last December, after the tragedy
with those kids at Colectiv,
they stole so much money.
- How so?
- They poured money down the drain!
Down the drain!
Three-year-old acquisition lists,
that no one gave a shit about...
were all approved in December.
And we bought every single item
with no control mechanism,
first come first served.
I feel very guilty about what's going on.
- You understand what I mean.
- We understand.
So your plan is to take this
to the prosecutors?
Yes.
- This is still on?
- Yes, of course!
And you still want us
to first run the story,
so it can't be covered up?
Yes, definitely.
- Nothing can change our mind.
- Great.
Then, the moment we run the story,
you walk
into the Anticorruption Directorate.
The election campaign
has officially started.
On 11 December
we will elect a new Parliament.
For the first time,
diaspora Romanians can vote by mail.
Mobsters don't care about context.
They're mobsters.
To someone who did this,
does it even matter who calls to ask them
to remain silent?
Did he have a plan
for when it falls apart?
Does he have a plan B?
Does he have a bag prepared,
like in the movies,
to pack his gold bars and to flee?
- Does he have a plan B?
- We'll see.
Anticorruption prosecutors
stated that manager Secureanu
has stolen hospital funds in 1075 cases.
The story was published
by journalist Catalin Tolontan
and prosecutors have already
started investigating.
Any moment now,
Manager Secureanu should leave
the Anticorruption Directorate.
That's him.
- Is it your turn to pay, Mr. Secureanu?
- Did you steal hospital money?
Is this your success story?
Open the door!
Secureanu, handcuffed,
leaving the Anticorruption Directorate.
Tomorrow we will pass the emergency bill
regarding hospital managers.
I am not claiming to have reformed
Romanian hospital management
but it's a first step.
The reason we didn't do this earlier
is that we tried to negotiate
with those involved
in order to not end up
with a major conflict.
Moreover, I was repeatedly blocked
by all institutions
that had to approve it.
Most recently
by our distinguished Academy.
It's no secret
that they will try to stop it
by all means,
the bill was already leaked
to their populist news channel.
Yes, they said I wanted to exclude...
Yes, exactly.
Whatever they throw at me,
I'll take as a compliment.
I will explain why this government
wants new hospital managers.
They plan to bring in foreign companies
to take over the Romanian hospitals.
Foreigners will take our profits
to develop their health system,
while we are stuck with these hospitals,
which they would actually like
to close down.
ANTICORRUPTION DIRECTORATE
Hospital employees
would love to blow the whistle
but the health system lacks
a proper control mechanism.
All we can do is have Mr. Dina,
from our control body,
gather post-factum information
in hospitals.
Or, if there are indications,
he can follow up.
The problem is extremely serious.
From people within
the health system I learned
that the Malaxa fraud
was no secret, everyone knew.
And also, that the manager
has friends in high places,
including politicians
that make our health policies.
Half of the hospitals,
in Bucharest and nationwide,
are managed in the same way.
- They are just less outspoken.
- Yes, we know.
Those who reported him
were fed up with his insults and threats.
It's not like they were
fed up with the fraud.
These managers have always
been untouchable.
- They think this can never change.
- It's the same in other areas,
no one ever touched the crooks,
and now they panic.
As soon as we investigate
one of these managers...
our phones start ringing.
We get summoned
by the Parliament Committee
for Investigation of Abuses
and get complaints
that we violate the managers' rights.
We want to launch this before elections.
To sign an agreement
for investigations on the health system.
The cases should end up on your desks
and perhaps it could give it
a better image.
On the other hand,
it might help deter others
from demolishing what we are building now.
That's our plan.
An emergency bill introduced changes
to the hospital management contract.
I invite Minister Vlad Voiculescu
to give you further details.
Most of the changes approved
by the government today
are designed to solve problems
identified by the ministry's control body.
Not just irregularities,
but problems that have been
affecting us all for years,
nepotism, politicization,
conflicts of interests.
For a hospital manager,
only the patient's interests should count.
Therefore, starting today,
hospital managers can no longer hold
leading or administrative positions
in any political party.
We don't want hospitals to be managed
by political interests.
We've had enough of that
during the past 25 years.
And as we all know, our party leaders
always choose hospitals abroad
for their own treatments.
Thank you, Minister. Any questions?
Why are no lung transplants
performed in Romania?
I will gladly give you the details
on another occasion.
Sorry, but last month a patient died
waiting for a transplant.
Your answer is needed urgently...
Fine.
...it can't wait.
We cover lung transplants
for dozens of patients
at the Vienna General Hospital,
where they have proper
infrastructure and expertise.
For €120,000, while in Romania
it would cost 90,000,
according to the manager
of St. Mary's Hospital.
Shouldn't you speed things up
considering that patients
on the waiting list are dying?
It is very simple.
I have a responsibility...
Yes, indeed...
My responsibility
is to ask the right questions
and to make informed decisions.
And if you don't have the answers?
I find it alarming that a minister
claims a hospital
can't provide proper care,
although the manager stated
that the hospital is fully authorized
by the National Transplant Agency.
It is unacceptable when we have a hospital
fully equipped for transplants
and specialized doctors.
How many people lost their chance to live
because of whatever suspicions?
This is a serious problem!
To not allow transplants in Romania
and send patients
somewhere abroad, to Vienna.
Going abroad seems to be the latest cure,
when the same care
could be provided in Romania,
for less money.
Did you mention our suspicions
about the accreditation?
- I had to.
- That's fine.
The head of the Transplant Agency
admitted in here
that he was forced to accredit
St. Mary's Hospital.
He repeated it in my office.
Suspicions are raised
once the head
of the Transplant Agency said that.
Moving on, we drafted the control order.
The control will establish
if the standards for transplant surgery
are met.
As the transplant scandal continues,
the manager of St. Mary's Hospital
has filed a criminal complaint
against the minister of health.
Vlad Voiculescu refuses
to fund transplants,
as the hospital was accredited
without having met
the necessary requirements.
Since the hospital
is under the mayor's authority,
Bucharest mayor Gabriela Firea
responds with an urgent request.
As general mayor
and as a citizen of this country,
I demand that the minister of health
give the green light
for lung transplants.
Surgery must begin tomorrow morning!
Let's have a press conference at 6:00 p.m.
I want to announce the following...
I have major doubts about
the accreditation of St. Mary's Hospital.
I have clear information
it was done under political pressure.
I think that the pressure
from Mayor Firea is outrageous.
Because lives are at risk.
I find it totally irresponsible
that the Social Democrats
are pushing for this.
Good evening, Professor.
Please hold for the minister.
Hold on.
- Good evening, Professor.
- Good evening, Minister.
Look, as the attacks continue,
I have to go public with an answer.
I will say what you have told me
and I wanted to discuss how to phrase it.
I would say that I have information...
that the head of the Transplant Agency
was forced to sign the accreditation.
If I may, Minister,
this could have legal consequences.
That I signed under duress.
Just a quick mention.
Nothing bad has happened yet.
It's a problem that it was accredited,
but there are no effects.
No transplant was done, nobody died.
No, but it will destroy
our agency's credibility.
They will say the agency
is under political influence
and it won't look good to the patients.
All the hopeful patients
who think the agency
is working in their interest...
- That's not a good thing, Minister.
- But it's the truth, isn't it?
It is, but I can't prove it.
- I just gave you some inside information.
- That's not true.
When asked by the Ministry
if the pneumology unit
should be accredited
you answered that the unit was not ready
and it should be evaluated
more thoroughly.
If I admit it,
they will say the agency is gambling
with accreditations.
We can't afford a scandal.
We would have to withdraw
the accreditation.
But that is my point.
If the unit met all standards,
we maintain the accreditation.
If it wasn't done by the book,
we'll obviously withdraw it.
This is obvious to me.
If they don't meet all standards,
we must clearly...
Please don't go public with this.
It could have legal consequences.
- I'll discuss it with my team.
- Please!
I can't promise, but I'll consider it.
Thank you very much!
- Will you have the press conference now?
- Yes, now.
It's here at the ministry,
I am already late.
Okay, thank you. Have a good evening.
The great Professor...
just pissed his pants.
Let's write.
- Okay.
- St. Mary's Clinical Hospital...
Can't provide proper care
after a transplant
because the hospital
doesn't have a pneumology unit,
which is vital and mandatory
for postoperative care.
- Ready?
- Yes.
Start recording.
We have serious suspicions
that St. Mary's Hospital
was accredited under political pressure.
Attacks coming from one side
of the political spectrum
indicate which political party
is behind it.
After it was accredited,
the hospital found
it cannot provide postoperative care
for transplant patients
as the hospital has no pneumology unit.
This unit is essential and mandatory
for post-surgery care.
We decided not to begin transplants
at this hospital
in the patients' best interests,
not against it.
Do you think the Transplant Agency
issued the accreditation illegally?
Okay. Look, it's not my job to give legal
or medical verdicts.
As long as the requirements are not met,
we can't make such political propaganda,
"Wouldn't it be nice to perform
lung transplants in Romania."
We are talking about people's lives
and a tragedy can occur at any time.
It's that simple.
Do you need help with this?
If it has sugar it's perfect.
- One or two?
- One, please.
Not sure how I should say this...
The way a state functions
can crush people sometimes.
You all got the full blow
of a dysfunctional state,
its corruption and its health system.
And I've learned, since I've been here...
that it's not just the minister
who sets the tone.
Everything underneath is rotten.
It's rotten. 90 percent of everything
in this ministry is deeply...
- Outdated?
- To say the least.
It's profoundly corrupt, demotivated...
They don't give a fuck
about anything out there.
That's why we're terrified
of what these elections might bring.
If people don't go and vote,
the Social Democrats will win a majority
and together
with other retrograde parties...
they will try to turn things around,
to how it was before.
Because that's the world they can own.
And given political developments
worldwide...
Look, "Mayor Firea at war
with the technocrats."
The minister must approve the funding
for lung transplants
that we need to make in Romania,
in Bucharest, at St. Mary's Hospital.
Instead, he takes the lungs,
not personally, but through employees,
and sends the Romanian lungs abroad.
These lungs were not good
for Romanian patients
on the transplant waiting list.
He exports them to Vienna,
where he used to work.
Tell me, we have an accredited hospital,
up to European standards,
we invested millions of euros,
but a minister who worked in Austria
sends all the lungs
and patients to Austria!
I think Romanians
can draw their own conclusions.
Election day. Around 19 million Romanians
are expected at the polls until 9:00 p.m.
As usual,
politicians were among the first voters.
Hi, Mom!
- Thank you.
- Thank you. Have a nice day.
By the end of the day we will know
where Romania is headed.
This will depend on everyone's vote,
and on the turnout.
After six months
at the Ministry of Health...
I can say that with courage,
and with the right people,
things can change.
I believe...
Everybody should vote.
Brothers, go vote!
Hundreds of patients
voted from their hospital beds.
An extra reason for you to vote.
Even patients fresh out of surgery
wanted to participate.
Only five percent of voters
aged between 18 and 24 went to vote.
Of those aged between 28 and 34,
ten percent went to vote.
With 99 percent of votes counted,
the situation is very clear,
the Social Democratic Party
has won the election.
They won in 34 counties,
almost everywhere.
For the first time,
they won the majority in Transylvania
and even in Brasov.
Here is the platform
that won these elections
for the Social Democrats
with an unprecedented majority,
zero tax for doctors
and for those working in IT,
regardless of income.
The 16 percent general income tax
will go down to ten percent.
- Hello.
- Hi, Dad! What's up?
I had low expectations,
but the results are crushing!
This is something...
The Social Democrats...
This is their biggest majority in history!
How can this be, Son?
Good question!
It's like we are living
in separate worlds!
Those who comment online are a minority,
- only ten-20 percent!
- Yes, the ten-15 percent.
What are you still doing here?
This country won't wake up
30 years from now!
History tells us
it takes more than decades.
They are hopeless!
This won't change in five-ten years.
By the time you'll retire,
it will still be the same!
Move back to Vienna! I am serious!
You're working in vain!
From there at least
you can help sick people, people in need.
Here, to try and wake up the people.
It's heart-breaking!
Bye, Dad!
I am wondering...
if any of the measures I took will last.
Fuck!
Come on already, Mirela!
There's a lot more work waiting.
For fuck's sake!
Please tell him. It's important!
Tell him, let him hear it.
About Secureanu?
- About the warning we got.
- I was approached by someone
from within the intelligence services.
That we should now be
more careful, for our families.
- The message was off the record.
- Off the record.
That we came across...
What did he call it?
"You came across a nest
of unscrupulous mobsters."
We don't know who they are,
which ones could be
the unscrupulous mobsters.
Secureanu is one for sure.
Freemasons, secret agents,
intelligence, who knows...
Pseudo-agents...
Who are dumb enough...
to try and hurt us through our families.
Anyway...
big money...
maybe the former mayor and his gang?
Okay, here's today's story.
Mayor Firea just appointed
a Social Democrat manager,
who isn't legally allowed
to manage a hospital,
in charge of 19 hospitals
with a total budget of 230 million euros.
Yes?
Happy holidays!
- Merry Christmas!
- Merry Christmas!
May you be healthy and happy together.
Enjoy that wonderful girl of yours.
Thank you! Same to you!
- How are you?
- We're on our way to the cemetery.
I see...
Okay, then, Narcis.
God bless. Take care, bye.
Someone's at his grave.
Don't cry, Mother.
Cheers, Son.
That's his.
You know this song.