Patient’s wife attacks doctor after RAKUS decision to disconnect husband from life support equipment / Article

Natalija’s husband, Jurija Koritova, was taken to RAKUS on Friday, already after long resuscitation measures. The man suffered a blood clot in his lungs and was taken to the intensive care unit. After long-term observation of the patient and other mandatory measures, the board of doctors decided to start the brain death protocol, which means that after the diagnosis of brain death, the life support of the patient must be stopped.

The doctor on duty, who announced this decision to the man’s relatives, is now hospitalized herself. She was attacked by the wife of the man lying in intensive care.

“According to the information I have, communication has taken place. Most likely, there have been some gaps in communication or something that one does not really want to hear has been heard. As a result, some physical actions have followed. Regardless of this information, physical influence on the staff is definitely not justified,” he said. Roberts Stashinskis, head of RAKUS Intensive Therapy Clinic.

Cases of patients showing aggression towards hospital staff are not rare. However, in this case, causing real bodily harm to an employee who is performing his work duties, is considered an extraordinary situation, in which the State Police is also involved.

“It was physical abuse. Real bodily harm that resulted in a person going to the emergency room. And we’re really concerned for our colleague. And that’s not acceptable. We’ve reached out to law enforcement and they’re going to look into it and take action accordingly.” presented by Normunds Staņevičs, chairman of the RAKUS board.

Latvijas Televīzija: The doctors also say that you have beaten a doctor on duty?

Patient’s wife Natalija Masalska-Koritova: Well… it was just that she wanted to show me the act. She then removed it. I wanted to see the act by which they made that decision, where the results are. Attacked me, and it turned out as it is.

Latvian Television: What happened? you beat?

Masalska-Koritova: No. There was simply an argument. I am a wife, I am in the hospital, I am with my husband. Yes, I ask the doctors that question and I want their answers. Everything!

As planned, at ten in the morning, the man’s life support equipment was not turned off. A meeting between the parties took place for several hours, involving lawyers and hospital management.

“It ended up that what I requested since yesterday, it was decided today with the lawyer, with the chief doctor and the additional doctor, and will be done today. That is, there will be a test on the brain that it is working. And today there will be brain tests. It has been accepted decision that it needs to be done,” Masalska-Koritova said.

The doctors and the hospital management explained that everything was done according to the law, and the specific protocol is to be followed, regardless of the wishes of the relatives.

“We have appropriate protocols that we follow and they happen, regardless of the parties involved. These are independent clinical protocols that are implemented. There is a protocol, but if there are any changes, we go back to the starting point,” stated the chairman of the RAKUS board .

The examination, which was carried out today for Natalia’s husband, was the coming of the hospital.

“Our job is to make sure we haven’t missed something. So our job is not to bring the patient to the point of death, but not to miss it. And then once we’ve made sure again that, yes, unfortunately the patient is dead, then we we are defining and the relevant actions are taking place,” said the head of RAKUS Intensive Therapy Clinic.

In the evening, an in-depth examination confirmed that the man had brain death.