Doctor Charged with Responsibility for Death of 3-year-old Child Is Released

Gela Mtivlishvili, Kakheti

The former doctor of Dedoplistskaro hospital Giorgi Sekhniashvili who was detained after the President’s statement under the charge of leaving three-year-old Amil Gasanov in jeopardy is released.

Three-year-old Amil Gasanov was beat by the snake at the end of the month of May of 2011 in the cattle farm. The child was transferred to Tbilisi by the brigade of catastrophic medicine center. However, the child died on the way.

The director of Dedoplistskaro Policlinic Union Vano Natroshvili stated to Kakheti Information Center back then that the health state of the patient deteriorated because the parents did not bring him on time to the hospital.

The parents stated the opposite. According to them, the doctors did not pay attention to the child on time and did not give him vaccine that caused his death. “It took no more than 30 minutes for us to bring him to Dedoplistskaro hospital. They said that it was good we came on time. They gave vaccine to the child. They did not say what they had or what they did not have. They told us at the end that they do not have serum and that the ambulance which is coming from Tbilisi will bring it. The ambulance came after 5-6 hours and the child died on the way. If they could not help us and had no medicine they could have told us to transfer the child somewhere else. They were saying that they would take care of the child. How could I know what they were doing in reality,” – father of the child Nalib Gasanov stated in the interview given to the TV Company Imedi on May 29th.

The director of Dedoplistskaro Policlinic Union Vano Natroshvili confirmed that the child was not given anti-giurza serum. According to him, there was no such medicine at all in the region.

The President Mikheil Saakashvili reacted upon the fact of child’s death on May 30th. The President requested to exemplary punish those doctors for whose negligence the child died.

“The snake beat the child of one of the shepherds in Dedoplistskaro region. The child was brought to local hospital where the doctors did not conduct any medical treatment for 7 hours. The child just needed serum. When they realized that the child was dying the procedure of his transfer to Tbilisi started. The fact is that the child could not reach Tbilisi. This happened because the doctors thought he was homeless and probably did not even look at him. These doctors must be punished exemplary. Today I had a very strict talk with the Minister of Health. I am not going to endure that the similar facts are still taking place in Georgia. I am not going to put up with the fact that a child is insecure and unprotected in Georgia because of negligence and lack of attention,” – Mikheil Saakashvili stated.

On the same day, on May 30th, the Agency of Regulation of Medical Activity of the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Protection started to study the case of three-year-old Amil Gasanov. The case was filed in the Sighnaghi regional Office of Prosecutor according to part 2 of article 130 of Criminal Code.

On June 2nd, the law-enforcement detained the doctor Giorgi Sekhniashvili of Dedoplistskaro hospital. Sighnaghi regional Office of Prosecutor did not exclude that the issue of responsibility of other employees of hospital might be raised as well. The doctor charged with the offence of leaving the patient in jeopardy was facing the imprisonment from three to five years.

The case hearings were postponed several times in Dedoplistskaro regional court. Finally it was all unclear whether the court heard the case under the substantial hearing and made the verdict or whether the case ended with plea-bargain agreement. No information was released regarding the trial on the information desk of the court. The assistant of the judge left the questions unanswered. For two months, we addressed the Supreme Court numerous times and the press services of the Main Office of Prosecutor to find out what was the sentence passed against Giorgi Sekhniashvili. We still have not received information.

Giorgi Sekhniashvili does not comment on his release.