Two medics were detained on Wednesday evening in connection with an inquiry into the deaths of 17 patients in an intensive care unit of a Bucharest hospital in just four days.
Earlier, prosecutors and police officers searched the homes of medical staff at the “St. Pantelimon” Emergency Hospital “St. Pantelimon” Emergency Hospital.
The deaths that occurred in April are considered suspicious after a hospital employee complained about irregularities in the administration of a drug.
An anesthetist and a ICU specialist at the unit were detained on suspicion of causing the death of a patient in serious condition in intensive care by abruptly reducing the dose of noradrenaline, a drug used to increase or maintain blood pressure –
Four medical staff were questioned at Bucharest police’s Homicide Department over the deaths, after an inquiry was opened following a complaint by a hospital employee, the Bucharest Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement
According to the complaint, a number of medical professionals intentionally lowered the rate of administration of norepinephrine for patients in intensive care (ICU), leading to the deaths from April 4-7.
Health Minister Alexandru Rafila on Wednesday said he was firing the hospital’s manager and the medical director. He cited “the malfunction and public mistrust generated by the events of recent months and the ongoing investigations.”
“Access to quality medical services in emergency hospitals is essential for the success of the reforms and investments carried out by the Health Ministry, and attitudes that endanger these important objectives for the health system are unacceptable,” he said in a press release.
A nurse was briefly detained for false testimony, before being released, according to News.ro.
An the ICU doctor who asked for the suspicious deaths to be investigated was fired by the hospital, PressHub.ro reported in June.
The College of Physicians in Bucharest presented the result of an inquiry on May 1, concluding that none of the 17 deaths were suspicious.
The deaths have shocked Romania, a country that is well used to medical scandals and endemic corruption in an underfunded health-care system that is plagued by inefficiencies and politicized management. Romania spends the second lowest on health in the EU after Bulgaria.
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