Healthy & Happy Ukraine medical clinic says the delay in helping a man dying across the street from its business can be blamed on the company’s confused receptionist. A witness says she had to ask the clinic three times before the doctor finally came to help the mortally wounded man, while the clinic says there was just one request.
The
victim of the crime, a 35-year-old man, died of stab wounds to the chest
soon after the doctor arrived. The assault took place in downtown Kyiv on April
23 about 3 p.m. No suspects were arrested as of April 24.
“The
receptionist didn’t know what to do, she started calling the manager,”
explained Borys Kogan, chief doctor of Healthy & Happy Ukraine clinic,
commenting on the situation on April 24.
The
receptionist, who was away from work on sick leave on April 24, reported the
stabbing to the clinic’s doctor. But the physician was busy at the time
bandaging a patient. According to Kogan, the doctor rushed to the site as soon
as he finished, 10 minutes after witnesses approached the clinic for help. He
says this “short delay” didn’t make any difference to the man’s fate.
“Given
what the wound was, the man would have died anyway, even if we could have come
sooner,” Kogan said.
He
also says that the clinic prepared a ward and a stretcher for the man, planning
to move him inside.
Kogan
confirmed that the receptionist was a medical worker and had a medical
education. But she never had experience in the field.
Kyiv police started a criminal proceeding on April 24
into whether the clinic violated the law by refusing to provide emergency
medical care to a person in need. The offense is punishable by up to three
years in prison.
Kyiv
Post staff writer Olga Rudenko can be reached at rudenko@kyivpost.com, and on Twitter at @olya_rudenko.
