The exhumation of the body of the deceased mother Drita Tafa was carried out yesterday after it was approved by the investigating judge of the High Court in Podgorica, "Vijesti" has learned unofficially.
The exhumation was previously requested by the Higher State Prosecutor's Office, which the day before opened a case related to the circumstances of Tafa's death on official duty, after learning about the event from the media.
"In the case of the Higher State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica, formed on the occasion of the death of the mother DT, which is in the investigation phase, notifications were collected from citizens and a proposal was submitted to the investigating judge of the High Court in Podgorica to determine the exhumation, after which an order will be issued on the autopsy of the body. In the further course of the procedure, this prosecution will continue to undertake all necessary measures and actions in order to shed light on the specific event, after which it will make a decision in the case," the Higher State Prosecutor's Office replied to "Vijesta" yesterday morning.
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The Clinical Center of Montenegro (KCCG) told "Vijesta" yesterday that they did not inform the prosecutor's office about the death of the woman in labor, but they did not answer why the pathological-anatomical (clinical) autopsy of the patient was not performed in that institution, as provided by the Law on Health Care. The director of that institution, Aleksandar Radović, said at a press conference the day before yesterday that the doctor on duty suggested an autopsy on Drita Tafa, but that her family refused.
The Law on Health Care, in Article 164, prescribes that the corpse of a person who died in a health care facility must be subject to an autopsy, if the exact cause of death has not been established and at the request of the medical doctor who treated the deceased person.
According to the authorities, an autopsy was requested by the doctor on duty, and the exact cause of death has not been determined.
Until yesterday afternoon, the findings of the health and sanitary inspection, which was sent to the Bar General Hospital the day before yesterday, were not known. The director of the Bar hospital, Igor Karišik, said that he would answer the questions of "Vijesti" as soon as possible, after consultation with the Ministry of Health.
"Vijesti", in addition to details regarding the case of Drita Tafa and Asmira Aljošević, asked Karišik about communication with the line ministry and KCCG, inspection supervision at that hospital, as well as whether any of the employees at the hospital in Bar will resign due to the death of the woman in labor.
Minister of Health Vojislav Šimun explained at the conference two days ago that the patient gave birth by caesarean section on September 13 in the hospital in Bar and that there was a surgical complication that was recognized the next day, and that she was then treated at KCCG until September 25. He explained that after her discharge, a routine procedure was scheduled for further urological treatment, and that on October 30, she was readmitted to KCCG, the day after the procedure.
"We assure the family and the entire public that all those responsible will be prosecuted," said Šimun.
KCCG director Aleksandar Radović said that the patient from Bar was brought to that institution due to suspicion of a ureteral ligation, which was confirmed by a urologist, so a probe was installed in consultation with an interventional radiologist to prevent kidney failure.
He explained that after nine days the patient was allowed to go home and that the probe was placed over the skin until the patient's condition improved. He explained that, according to the agreement, she was admitted again to KCCG, complete analyzes and imaging were done, and the temporary one was removed, and a probe was inserted into the body.
Radović said that the scans on Friday showed that the probe was working, but the patient's condition worsened, and a scanner scan was also performed, which showed that there was no contrast leakage and that anatomically everything was fine.
"The patient was transferred to intensive care, resuscitation was started, but she died. We launched an internal commission that should establish why there was a fatal outcome in such a short period of time," said Radović.
At the media conference two days ago, the case of patient AA, also from Ulcinj, was discussed, who after giving birth by caesarean section in the Bar hospital on September 10, was transferred to KCCG due to complications.
Radović said that she had increased bleeding and that the KCCG gynecologists admitted her urgently, and that it was not surgical bleeding, but coagulopathy.
"The patient received a very large number of blood transfusions, kidney and lung function disorders occurred, but now she is in the recovery phase and we are weaning her from the breathing machine," said Radović.
Šimun, answering the questions, said that in gynecology, bleeding after caesarean section is common, while in the case of the deceased patient, "it is a potential injury to the ureter in connection with surgical work".
He pointed out that he expects the forensic autopsy to show what caused the patient's death.
And UNICEF warned about the quality of hospital care for mothers
Births in health centers in Ulcinj, Plav, Rožaje and Mojkovac are not safe, policies should be adopted to reduce the caesarean section rate and increase the number of individual delivery rooms, but also improve preparedness for emergencies, including resuscitation of newborns.
These are just some conclusions and recommendations from the assessment of the quality of hospital care for mothers and newborns, which was carried out for the third time this year by the Ministry of Health in cooperation with the UNICEF representative office in Montenegro and with the expert assistance of the international foundation CURATIO.
The assessment found that progress has been made in Montenegrin hospitals, but that this area needs to be further improved.
With the exception of KCCG, all evaluated institutions had excessively high cesarean section rates, the assessment states.
"In the last two decades, the caesarean section rate in Montenegro has increased significantly: from 10 percent in 2000 to almost 24 percent in 2010, and it is estimated that it will be around 2023 percent in 40...", the report says.
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