A family doctor from Donduseni town was convicted of professional negligence and spread of epidemic disease. Accordion to prosecutors, the doctor allowed an educator suffering from tuberculosis to work at a nursery school. As a result, a number of children there became infected. The doctor was given two years’ probation and was banned from holding posts in medical institutions for a two-year-period, IPN reports.
According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, in 2011 the educator was diagnosed with bilateral chronic bronchitis and was prescribed treatment at home. She was to do repeated medical examinations in two weeks, but she didn’t do it for the reason that the previous treatment was ineffective. The patient formed part of the group with increased risk of becoming infected with tuberculosis, but the family doctor didn’t ensure the monitoring of treatment and didn’t inform the competent bodies about the necessity of suspending the educator until an accurate diagnosis was made.
In a month, the educator was included in the list of persons who were to be mandatorily examined by the dermatovenerologist. The doctor examined the woman superficially and allowed her to continue work.
The patient didn’t know that she suffered from tuberculosis. She was dismissed only in April 2012, when she was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis during the next medical examination and was immediately hospitalized.
As a result of an epidemiological examination, it was established that four of the 261 children attending the nursery got tuberculosis, while 65 were infected.
The Donduseni court acquitted the family doctor on both counts. The charges against the dermatovenerologist were dropped following his death. The prosecution appealed the sentence and the Balti Appeals Court found the family doctor guilty. The sentence is definitive, but can be appealed to the Supreme Court of Justice.
