The chronology of the state of emergency with deaths of infants in the Novokuznetsk maternity hospital has been published

In the Kemerovo region, during the New Year holidays, at least nine babies died in the maternity hospital No. 1 in Novokuznetsk, after which the institution was quarantined and large-scale inspections began. The investigative authorities have opened a criminal case, and federal agencies and the central office of the Investigative Committee of Russia (IC RF) have joined the investigation. All the details are in the Izvestia article.

What is known about the tragedy in the hospital

In late December and early January, deaths of newborns were recorded in the Novokuznetsk maternity hospital No. 1. According to Izvestia, four children died from a neonatal infection that develops in the first days after birth, most of the victims were diagnosed with neonatal or intrauterine infections, pneumonia and respiratory distress syndrome. Six of the nine babies were premature, and the gestation period ranged from 24 to 34 weeks.

The website of the city clinical hospital No. 1 named after G.P. Kurbatov reported on the suspension of hospitalization in an obstetric hospital for sanitary and epidemiological reasons. The facility was quarantined, while the administration stated that there was no personnel shortage and promised to inform about the resumption of work additionally.

On January 13, the Minister of Health of the Kemerovo Region, Andrei Tarasov, confirmed information about the deaths of newborns in the hospital. According to the mother of one of the babies who died in January, doctors informed her that the child "fell ill" after birth, but did not give clear explanations about the causes and sources of infection.

How did the inspections and investigation develop?

After confirming the information about the deaths of infants, a criminal case was opened under Part 3 of Article 109 of the Criminal Code ("Causing death by negligence to two or more persons"), Part 3 of Article 293 of the Criminal Code ("Negligence"). The investigators seized medical records, ordered forensic medical examinations and began questioning officials.

Later, the chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Alexander Bastrykin, instructed to transfer the criminal case to the central office of the department. It was reported that experienced investigators, criminologists and experts at the federal level were involved in the investigation.

Federation Council Chairman Valentina Matvienko called the incident a tragedy for the state and stressed that conclusions should be drawn from the incident at the federal level. She instructed the senators to closely monitor the progress of the investigation and, if necessary, prepare legislative initiatives that would prevent the recurrence of such cases.

The State Duma also assessed the situation. Sergei Leonov, Chairman of the Committee on Health Protection, said that the deaths of infants are a huge tragedy that requires a thorough investigation to understand the causes of what happened and prevent this from happening in the future.

In addition, the inspection was organized by the regional prosecutor's office, taking control of the progress of the procedural inspection. On behalf of the Minister of Health of the Russian Federation Mikhail Murashko, specialists were sent to the Kemerovo region to evaluate the work of the maternity service, the group was headed by the head of Roszdravnadzor Alla Samoilova. Rospotrebnadzor specialists arrived at the hospital to conduct an epidemiological investigation.

On January 13, Kemerovo Region Governor Ilya Seredyuk temporarily dismissed Vitaly Heraskov, the chief physician of the hospital, and instructed the regional Ministry of Health to check all maternity hospitals and perinatal centers for readiness for difficult cases. The next day, on January 14, the chief physician and the head of the intensive care unit of the maternity hospital were detained in Novokuznetsk.

Caesarean torment: what is the cause of child deaths in the Novokuznetsk maternity hospital

Infants could have contracted a hospital strain of staphylococcus or a respiratory tract infection, doctors say.

What have the inspections and experts revealed?

Gennady Onishchenko, Deputy President of the Russian Academy of Education, said that the mass death of infants, taking into account the rate of spread, indicates a bacterial infection, excluding the viral nature of the incident. In his opinion, violations of sanitary control and the festive period, when the staff on duty worked in the institution, could become an aggravating factor.

Lawyers point out that maternity hospital staff can face up to seven years in prison under the article "Negligence", and the administration of the institution may apply an article on the provision of services that do not meet safety requirements. Experts emphasize the need for a thorough analysis of job descriptions and medical records of women in labor, as errors in the investigation may lead to the cancellation of the verdict.

What is known about previous incidents and complaints

Inspections revealed that serious violations in the work of Novokuznetsk city Clinical hospital No. 1 had been recorded before. According to the documents available to Izvestia, in 2021, the court suspended the work of the obstetric department due to gross non-compliance with sanitary standards, the absence of an intensive care unit for newborns and violations in the laundry.

In 2020, Svetlana Khlestunova's child died in maternity hospital No. 1, but, according to her, the baby was never shown to the woman. She told Izvestia about this on January 14.

According to Khlestunova, she and her husband had been expecting a child for 13 years. In the eighth month of pregnancy, she fell ill and was hospitalized, and later learned about her critical condition only through a blood test. The woman reported that after signing the medical documents, she underwent a cesarean section, then she ended up in intensive care, where, according to her, she was denied sedatives.

According to Khlestunova, after being transferred from intensive care, she was discharged the next day under the pretext of treating the hospital, but they refused to transfer her to another medical institution. The woman stated that no one from the family had seen the child after his death, and a few years later it became known that the newborn had been buried in a mass grave.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.