Investigation launched over possible medical negligence
A prosecutor in Kozani, northern Greece has ordered an urgent preliminary investigation into possible offenses in the case of a 41-year-old pregnant woman who was unable to receive emergency hospital treatment after the seven-week-old fetus she was carrying died but remained in utero.
Following the advice of her doctor, the woman was admitted to Kozani Hospital on December 28, 2021, and subsequently Ptolemaida Hospital to have the dead fetus removed.
Neither hospital was able to perform the required procedure as there was no anesthesiologist present. When she arrived at Kozani Hospital again on January 3, she was told that the anesthesiologist would return on January 10.
While Kozani has two anesthesiologists and Ptolemaida has one, each hospital is left without an anesthesiologist for eight to 10 days a month to deal with emergencies. On January 3, she was taken to Grevena Hospital, but was referred back to Ptolemaida. The following day she went to a private clinic, which was able to perform the procedure.
[AMNA, ERT]
