According to the Minister of Health, Mikheil Sarjveladze, the reason funding was denied for the eye surgery of Aleksandre Tirkia, who was injured during the protest, was because the clinic uploaded the necessary documentation incorrectly.

Mikheil Sarjveladze explained that it is absolutely unacceptable when a clinic makes a mistake and then tries to place the blame on the ministry.

"This is artificially stirred-up agitation, which does not correspond to reality or the truth. The reality is this: due to the negligence of a clinic, a doctor, or staff, the application and information related to funding were sent in the wrong direction. Specifically, the documentation was uploaded incorrectly into the Universal Healthcare Program. Funding cannot be granted under such conditions. The clinic and its staff are well aware of this rule, yet they still uploaded the documentation incorrectly and in the wrong section.

In previous cases, this particular individual has received funding for medical services from the ministry. For example, when this person required a specific procedure—whether it was outpatient or diagnostic—it was always funded by the ministry.

Previously, medical documentation had been correctly submitted through the referral program and was indeed funded. This time, the same documentation was not uploaded to the referral platform. The people involved know the proper procedure perfectly well, but someone took advantage of the situation. As soon as the application is submitted correctly, there is every reason to say that this person will receive funding.

When a clinic makes a mistake and then tries to tarnish the reputation of the ministry, that is categorically unacceptable. My appeal would be that before people make loud accusations, they should think more carefully and refrain from making unjust and incorrect claims. That would be the only proper behavior on their part. Therefore, I urge clinics not to treat patients’ interests so carelessly. Fortunately, most clinics do not act this way. But unfortunately, there are negative exceptions—and it seems that this is one of those cases," said Mikheil Sarjveladze.

For your information, yesterday the founder of the “Nanuka Foundation,” Nanuka Zhorzholiani, shared information on social media stating that the Ministry of Health had denied funding for Aleksandre Tirkia’s eye surgery.