Surgeon specialist tries to perform gynecological examinations in the Yambol state hospital "St. Pantaleimon". After the intervention of a bTV team, the prosecutor's office reported itself and worked on the case.
The Executive Agency “Medical Supervision”, the Bulgarian Medical Union and the Ministry of Health also started an inspection.
56-year-old Dr. Artur Polshikov works as a surgeon at the state hospital in Yambol "St. Pantaleimon", he is on duty in the hospital's surgical department and in the Emergency Department. Our team was contacted by a 24-year-old woman from Yambol who said that the surgeon Polshikov wanted to perform a gynecological examination on her. We are hiding her identity, at her request.
It became clear that the same doctor was detained by the GDBOP years ago for huge possession and distribution of child porn.
„A few days ago I had to visit the emergency room due to severe pain. From there I was referred to the emergency room. Doctor Artur Polshikov received me there. Give me some shots. From one of the injections, everything went blurry for me. He came, examined me with a video zone. Everything said it's ok, it's a bacteria to him. After examining me, he suggested that he give me a gynecological examination so that he could find out where this bacteria came from and what this bacteria was, says the patient.
„Because he is a surgeon, I refused to have him do a gynecological examination. He wanted to put me in the hospital, I refused. In the morning I went back to the ER, he saw me again. He started taking me through the rooms. We went to a room, there was only one couch. He told me to lie down, take off my pants, so he could examine me. I refused again, my stomach felt. My pants were always down. His exact words were “you lie on the couch, take off your pants, I reached and saw”. These are the words of Doctor Polishkov. He insisted on doing this review. To me, a surgeon has no right to do that kind of examination. He found out that it was a bacteria, he prescribed me antibiotics, the woman says.
After leaving the Emergency Department of the Medical Center "St. Pantaleimon" the young woman goes to a specialist at a private hospital, where it turns out that it wasn't bacteria or anything at all, but a kidney crisis.
After what happened, the patient decided to file a report with the director of the hospital "St. Pantaleimon".
„They explained to me that I simply did not understand his words or I actually understood them incorrectly,” says the woman.
She referred other institutions as well, but hit a stone.
“The Medical Association told me to write a letter so that it could possibly be considered”, the patient also states.
„The staff was there - nurses, orderlies, but no one would say anything. They were silent. They will not stand against a doctor. Nobody wants to lose their bread”, says the woman.
We decide to check if it is a practice for the surgeon to perform gynecological examinations. Our impersonator makes an appointment with Dr. Artur Polshikov. At the appointment, she goes to the Surgery Department, but he meets her and takes her to the Emergency Department.
- You were in pain, only upstairs, right?
-Yes.
- You have gastritis, right?
-Yes.
- Let's see the belly. What do you associate this pain with, what can it be? Download below. Where exactly do you have pain? I have to look at you from below, take off your pants.
- I'm a little worried because I know you're not a gynecologist?
- Because the pain is low down, I'm a doctor, it doesn't matter..
-I'm a little worried because I don't want to undergo such an examination, because I know that gynecologically everything is fine.
- How do you know that?
- I go for check-ups regularly, you are a surgeon, not a gynecologist.
-I just want the diagnosis to be easier for me. To be able to touch from below, because I can't touch through the belly like that…
Our team is interrupting this review.
In front of an official camera, Dr. Polshikov denies that he wants to do gynecological examinations.
According to Maria Yaneva - lawyer in medical law, the surgeon has no right to perform such.
„I watched the video you sent me several times. In this case, it concerns a patient seeking surgical assistance, making an appointment with a surgeon. The surgeon cannot perform gynecological examinations. There are situations that, in the conditions of urgency, life-threatening, acute condition, in which the surgeon can go beyond his competence, but in this case, this hypothesis is not present”, says Maria Yaneva.
“Gynecological examinations are performed under strictly defined conditions, in sterile offices. The most important thing is that they are performed by a doctor who has such a specialty. It is inadmissible for a surgeon to perform gynecological examinations on patients. Even more, we are talking about time, in the time range of the day when doctors with the necessary specialty are available. In this case, this medical facility has an obstetrics and gynecology department, she also points out.
Dr. Artur Polshikov is a Russian citizen, graduated in medicine from the Tver Medical Academy in the Russian Federation. According to sources, he worked in several hospitals in different cities in our country - Pleven, Vratsa, Pavlikeni. He was dismissed. In 2016, he was appointed to work as a specialist in the Surgical Department at the hospital in Dobrich. In 2020, he was arrested during a GDBOP action for possession and distribution of child pornography. The services detect that files with sexual exploitation of children are being downloaded and distributed from an IP address from a good hospital – of visible age under 14.
„During the procedural actions, three computer systems with more than 1 TB of content and distribution of more than 3 TB of such materials were seized. On his computer, nearly 9,000 files of clips of child abuse - minors and minors, sexual abuse of children were found, commented Yavor Kolev, former head of the "Cyber Crimes" department. in GDBOP.
„For me, he most likely has similar acts before, it's a matter of investigation and proof. It is very likely that if things calm down now, so to speak, he will continue to do it. Pedophilia cannot be cured. It can be controlled," says criminal psychologist Todor Todorov.
„Unfortunately, this person was not effectively convicted and he was fined 3,000 BGN. His current activity is precisely as a result of the fact that such people, who are convicted in this way, gain confidence that they are unpunished and they escalate in their actions, as we see now, this person begins to seek real contacts with his victims”, Yavor Kolev also points out.