Kozienice. A nurse died of COVID. The prosecutor's office accuses the doctor

The prosecutor's office charged a doctor from the hospital in Kozienice (Masovian Voivodeship) in the death of a nurse from that facility suffering from COVID-19. – Małgorzata G. decided to transport the patient with increasing acute respiratory failure to a clinic in Warsaw by an ambulance without appropriate medical equipment – say investigators.

As prosecutor Ewa Kotowska from the District Prosecutor's Office in Lublin announced on Wednesday, the indictment in this case was sent to the District Court in Kozienice.

A 59-year-old nurse from the hospital in Kozienice died at the height of the pandemic, in April 2020, right after she was transported by ambulance from the hospital in Kozienice to the Central Clinical Hospital of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration in Warsaw. According to the prosecutor's office, the doctor Małgorzata G. wrongly ordered the patient to be transported by ambulance without proper protection.

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The doctor faces up to five years in prison

According to investigators, when it was decided to transport the 59-year-old to Warsaw, the patient's condition was not good and she had breathing problems. Meanwhile, the ambulance that transported her to Warsaw was not equipped with appropriate devices, including: for mechanical ventilation, monitoring vital signs, blood oxygen saturation, electrocardiographic recording and blood pressure measurement.

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– According to the experts, proper conduct during transport created a greater chance of saving the sick 59-year-old woman – said prosecutor Kotowska.

The doctor was charged with exposing the injured party to a direct threat of loss of life or serious bodily harm when she was obliged to care for the patient. This offense is punishable by imprisonment for up to five years.

Other people were also suspected and the investigation was discontinued

However, the prosecutor's office discontinued the investigation into the case of another doctor from the Kozienice hospital and a paramedic who had also previously been charged in this case. Investigators concluded that they had not committed a crime. – The proceedings were discontinued due to the lack of signs of a prohibited act – said prosecutor Kotowska. This decision of the prosecutor's office is now final.

In April 2020, a nurse working at the hospital in Kozienice was admitted to the internal ward with symptoms of COVID-19. As the Kozienice hospital informed then, the patient was tested for coronavirus three times and only the last result turned out to be positive.

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Experts appointed by the prosecutor's office stated that the treatment in Kozienice was carried out correctly. It was decided to transport the sick nurse to a clinic in Warsaw due to the woman's deteriorating health condition. The doctor, Małgorzata G., agreed to transport the patient to Warsaw in a poorly equipped ambulance.

The patient's problems began during the approximately 50-minute transport from Kozienice to Warsaw. When the 59-year-old woman arrived at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration clinic, resuscitation was immediately started, which lasted an hour. However, the woman died. Shortly after the incident, the deputy medical director of the Warsaw clinic submitted a report to the prosecutor's office.