The ombudsman, MihailCotorobai, disapproves of the Ministry of Health’s declining liability of the team of doctors for their failure to take action in the case of the Bastovoi family, which resulted in the death of one person and damage to the health of another person.

According to the central healthcare authority, the doctors, after having being called by the victims, came to the site and stayed around the Bastovois’ house for 30 minutes with the alarm on, but did not get into the house and did not alert the police since “there was no legal ground to do that”. The press release publicized by the Ministry of Health (MoH) states that the “emergency team acted in observance of the law”.

However, the ombudsman considers that MoH misleads the public opinion by such statements. The Regulation on Emergency Care to the Population Within the Jurisdiction of the Zonal/Municipal Emergency Centre, Annex No.15 to the MoH Order No. 85 of 30.03.2009 stipulates clearly in paragraph 7: “With a view to fulfilling its duties, the Zonal/Municipal Emergency Centre shall cooperate with the MoH specialists, MoH’s senior specialist in emergency medicine and disasters, the National Health Insurance Company (NHIC), the administration of the primary healthcare service and the hospital care service within its jurisdiction, the preventive healthcare service, the police service, the firefighting service, and the local public administration”.
In addition, paragraph 9 of the Regulation on Operation of the Specialized Cardiology Emergency Team, (Annex No.40 to the MoH Order No.85 of 30.03, 2009) stipulates that the specialized cardiology team shall «cooperate within its activity with emergency medicine/admission departments, the primary healthcare and hospital care services within its jurisdiction, the specialized healthcare institutions, the preventive healthcare centres, the subdivisions of the firefighting, rescuer and police services”. 
These provisions aim at ensuring prompt intervention specifically in exceptional cases, such as the aggravation of the condition of patients suffering from heart diseases, implicitly, heart attacks. According to the ombudsman, the nature of heart diseases, the risks for patients’ life, the reasons for possible problems that might arise before the emergency team comes, call for a particular approach by the health professionals.
It is sad that such circumstances have been ignored by the emergency team, which, in absence of “any signs of violence or aggression” decided it was not worth calling the police or the rescuers.

The ombudsman reminds that, according to the Law on Practicing the Medical Profession, No. 264-XVI, “human health is the supreme personal and social value” and “health professionalsare obliged to make use all their professional capacities and knowledge to contribute to protecting the health of the population”.

The formal approach to the situation of January 30 by the emergency team as well as by the Zonal/Municipal Station staff who are responsible for organising the provision of emergency care as requested, according to the vague provisions of the above-mentioned regulations, has led to dramatic consequences for the Bastovoi family, MihailCotorobai believes.

The Bastovoi case has revealed serious gaps in the emergency care system, which must be addressed as soon as possible by creating a very clear mechanism for intervention/action by the healthcare professionals in various situations in which the life of patients could be in danger. Such mechanism should stipulate the circumstances in which the medical staff have to cooperate with the police, rescuers, public utility providers, etc.

The ombudsman also recommends that the Ministry of Health provides training to the healthcare staff of the emergency service on the provisions of the national legal and regulatory framework and the international standards in this field in order to ensure operative and informed action with a view to qualitatively and competently carrying out the medical profession, observing the rights and interests of the patients as well as the primacy of life and every human’s inherent right to life.

The Ombudsperson Office will follow closely the situation in the area of emergency healthcare through the prism of observance of the right to life and the patient’s rights.