A man died in Kosshy on the way to hospital. The victim's daughter, Kunduz, said the tragic outcome could have been avoided if the ambulance staff had performed their duties properly.
According to Zakon.kz, the man fell ill during the night of 4th-5th September. He was suffering from vomiting, stomach pain and severe weakness. An ambulance was called three times.
"Dad collapsed when we called the ambulance the first time. On the second call, the paramedic said she couldn't get my father down, and left. On the afternoon of 5th September, the third time, I asked the driver to come into the yard; my father's brother brought him down. By the way, they arrived after 1.5 hours. I warned that the patient was bedridden, but they sent a 'seated' ambulance. When Dad got really bad on the road, the paramedic started trying to resuscitate him while he was sitting. Can you imagine that kind of resuscitation? Blood came out of my father's mouth; he died before my eyes", Kunduz recounted.
The regional ambulance station commented on the case. They said that two clinics operate in Kosshy, including a private one to which the man was assigned. Therefore, the calls were handled by teams from the private clinic.
"The calls were classified as urgency category four, where the response time, incidentally, is up to 60 minutes. On the first visit, the paramedic performed an ECG but found no pathology. On the second call, the ambulance service noted that the patient was offered hospitalisation, but he refused inpatient treatment. On the third call, he was taken to hospital, but he lost consciousness already in the vehicle", the statement said.
Medics noted that the unequipped vehicle was sent because the call was allegedly assigned to the fourth urgency category. The victim's daughter stated that no one refused inpatient treatment.
"My father called the ambulance himself; he felt very unwell, so why would he refuse? They said they couldn't get him down; Dad lived on the sixth floor", Kunduz said.
Kunduz intends to prove the medics' culpability in her father's death by contacting law enforcement authorities.
The head of the health department, Nurlan Akhilbekov, stated that it is too early to draw conclusions about the cause of death without examination results and pathological data. He said the department has launched an internal investigation.
Meanwhile, residents of Kosshy complain about a shortage of ambulances and the lack of resuscitation vehicles in the city.
"Today, Kosshy has a total of eight vehicles. Last year, the city clinic purchased one ambulance, and this year we allocated a resuscitation vehicle. The ambulance station branch in this locality has four vehicles, including one reserve. The company 'Zhanuya' has two vehicles. That makes eight in total, including three resuscitation vehicles. Furthermore, we expect a delivery of 25 resuscitation vehicles, which we will distribute across the entire regional ambulance service. And first of all, we plan to send them to the 'near-capital' areas – Talapker, Koyandy, Kosshy, and so on", Nurlan Akhilbekov reported.
Meanwhile, the region's chief doctor admitted that the existing eight vehicles for the whole of Kosshy are insufficient.
"According to statistics, around 70,000 people live in Kosshy, but in reality, it's over 100,000. However, the RPN, the register of the attached population, shows only 33,000 residents. That means only 33,000 are attached to the local clinics, which implies that this is the number of Kosshy residents we must provide with ambulances. According to the order, one ambulance is required per 10,000 residents. So, there should be three, but there are eight vehicles. But in fact, there are more residents in Kosshy, so even eight vehicles is still too few", the head of the department explained.
In his opinion, the solution to this situation would be for citizens to register with local clinics. In turn, city residents explain their reluctance to register in Kosshy by the low quality of medical care.
"We are simply afraid of losing our remaining health or even our lives here. There are plenty of examples. Another reason why many prefer to register in the capital is the distance to the regional centre. When the clinic assigns you for inpatient treatment, it's in Kokshetau. Going 300 km for treatment is very far and inconvenient: who will visit you there? Also, the doctors in the capital's hospitals are better", the residents argue.
It is noted that this is not the first tragic incident involving an ambulance in Kosshy. It is reported that the local court is currently considering a criminal case against a paramedic accused under Article 320, Part 2 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan: "Failure to provide medical care, resulting through negligence in the death of a patient or the infliction of serious harm to their health". The case is at the preliminary hearing stage.