“Will you go get me some ampoules?” – this is what the doctor said to his friend, a doctor at the Specialist Hospital. Stefan Żeromski in Krakow. These “ampoules” were supposed to contain fentanyl, which the doctor was supposed to administer through a drip when admitting patients to the emergency department. Witnesses claim that the hospital director knew everything perfectly well.
Director of the Specialist Hospital Stefan Żeromski in Krakow Lech Kucharski does not find time for a conversation, but he still employs a doctor who, with a drip in his forearm, admitted patients in the emergency department.
Two weeks ago the director asked what the problem was. Now it turns out that he was supposed to know what the doctor was doing. This is confirmed by recordings obtained by TVN24 journalist Mateusz Kudła, and the accounts of people who had contact with the doctor are shocking. – About 18 ampoules in two weeks. And he opened the medicine and took it with a syringe and a needle. Of course, he took the medicine and gave it to himself – one of them confesses anonymously.
SEE MORE ON TVN24 GO: The doctor was supposed to collect the ampoules from the Emergency Department. Did the director know about the problem? Recording
Due to addiction, a doctor once lost his job at another facility. – I asked the doctor directly what he did with the second ampoule. And then he told me that he took it because he needed it for someone in his family – says another person anonymously.
The management calls the work of a doctor under a drip a “sacrifice”, and the Minister of Health calls patients' health and even life at risk. – This is unacceptable and the doctor must answer for such actions – emphasizes Izabela Leszczyna.
Five victims of fentanyl overdose in Żuromin. “Death awaits everyone”Dariusz Łapiński/Fakty TVN
Consequences, but not for the doctor
The rescuers and whistleblowers who reported the problem to their superiors were the only ones who suffered consequences. In the presence of a doctor, they had the choice of disciplinary dismissal, voluntary departure or transfer.
– He knew that the paramedic knew that he (the doctor – ed.) was stealing these ampoules. He was constantly looking for a trick to get rid of her, says Elżbieta Głowa, deputy director of nursing at the Specialist Hospital. Stefan Żeromski in Krakow.
Although the principal does not see a problem, he has appointed a team to investigate the matter. He is particularly interested in how the doctor's recordings were leaked. Police officers and experts have already visited the hospital and secured the documents.
– This is about the misappropriation of narcotic drugs, and this act is punishable by imprisonment from three months to five years – says Krzysztof Dratwa from the District Prosecutor's Office in Krakow.
The director forbade whistleblowers from appearing at the Emergency Department. In this way he wanted to cut the topic short. “I would advise you to completely distance yourself from the Hospital Emergency Department at this time,” you can hear in the recording obtained by a TVN24 journalist.
Main photo source: Fakty TVN