On December 5, 2022, the incident occurred. Investigators established that a 43-year-old man who was out walking with his wife suddenly lost consciousness and fell. The woman immediately began cardiopulmonary resuscitation, which she continued until the Emergency Medical Services team arrived.
The rescuers transported the patient to Łużyckie Centrum Medyczne in Lubań. That day, the accused doctor was on duty in the Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care. According to the prosecutor’s findings, she assessed the patient’s condition while he was still in the ambulance and then refused to admit him to the ward because there were no vacant beds.
As a result—according to the dispatcher’s instructions—the patient was taken to a hospital in Zgorzelec. Shortly after being admitted to that facility, he died.
Expert opinion
A key role in the investigation was played by the opinion of a team of experts from the Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, from the Department and Division of Forensic Medicine.
According to the experts, the anesthesiologist “did not implement medical procedures in the hospital Emergency Department.” Investigators add: – She did not carry out the diagnostic procedures required by medical knowledge and the principles of medical practice. In particular, she did not implement or perform an initial, rapid diagnostic assessment aimed at identifying potentially reversible causes of cardiac arrest. She did not order a blood test using a critical-parameters analyzer, which would have made it possible to rule out some reversible causes of cardiac arrest.
Furthermore, according to the opinion, no ultrasound examinations were performed that could have enabled the diagnosis of many life-threatening conditions. In the experts’ view, the absence of these measures meant that the cause of the patient’s sudden deterioration was not established, limiting the possibility of providing appropriate treatment.
Prosecutor’s allegations
Investigators accuse the doctor of refusing to admit the patient, who was in cardiac arrest, because there was no space in the intensive care unit.
According to the indictment, the patient was not stabilized until a bed could be found at another hospital, nor was the required consultation with an anesthesiologist carried out before the decision to transfer him to the hospital in Zgorzelec, approximately 24 kilometers away.
Doctor denies guilt
The accused pleaded not guilty to the alleged offense and gave an explanation.
Intentionally? For unintentionally exposing a person to the immediate danger of loss of life or serious harm to health, a sentence of up to one year in prison may be imposed. The prosecutor’s office said that the woman had not previously been convicted.
(Headline: illustrative photo).