MOSCOW, August 7 (RIA Novosti) – A cardiovascular surgery center in Russia’s Urals Region where a patient died after being beaten by a doctor has been fined 100,000 rubles ($3,000), a federal healthcare watchdog said Wednesday.
According to media reports that emerged and attracted a lot of attention in early July, a patient at the Perm center who had just undergone cardiac surgery was hit several times by a physician and died soon afterward.
A surveillance video uploaded onto YouTube shows the doctor punching the patient in the head and then pounding on his chest directly above his heart. The footage displays the date February 21, 2013. Russian online tabloid Life News on July 3 cited the physician as saying the patient had insulted him at the end of a 36-hour shift and he had lost his temper. In the video, the patient appears to be strapped to the bed.
A criminal case was opened, and last month, investigators said the deceased patient’s body would be exhumed for examination.
An investigation ordered by the Russian health minister revealed that the patient had been beaten by an anesthesiologist while in intensive care.
It also found that apart from the physical violence, the center had provided “defective” medical assistance to the patient. The findings were sent to court, which found the center guilty of violating rules in the provision of medical assistance.
