The Health Ministry and Hospital – Acquired Infections

More than a month after the horrific fire at Bucharest's 'Colectiv' nighclub, dozens of victims are still in hospital.

Mihai Pelin, 04.12.2015, 13:47

More than a month
after the horrific fire at Bucharest’s Colectiv nightclub, which killed 60
people, dozens of victims are still treated in hospitals in Romania’s capital
city and abroad. After the media reported that many of the injured had died
because Romanian hospitals didn’t have the necessary quality standards to
prevent patients from developing infections, the National Institute for Public
Health and the Public Health Department started an investigation into the
matter.

Germ samples were taken from
Bucharest hospitals, and the test results are to be made public next week. The
Health Ministry reacted by saying that
hospital-acquired infections represent one of the complications in patients
with severe burns, citing expert studies to support their statement. Thus, 75%
of deaths among these patients are associated with lung lesions and
complications caused by infections. Also, the Health Ministry gave assurances
that the hospitals had all necessary means and medicines to treat patients in
critical condition.

The spokesperson for the Clinical Emergency Hospital for Plastic,
Reconstructive and Burns Surgery, doctor Adrian Stănculea, has confirmed that three of
the victims of the Colectiv fire died due to infections, but that was not out
of the normal in such situations. Asked whether they could have been saved if
transferred to hospitals abroad on time Stanculescu has said those were mere
speculations. According to Dr. Stanculescu, there is always a risk for patients
with severe burns to develop infections because damaged skin can no longer
protect the body.

Moreover, in the case
of the Colectiv fire victims there was also the problem of respiratory tract
infections, as their lungs were seriously affected by the toxic substances they
had inhaled. Hospital representatives have also stated that hospital acquired
infections in patients suffering from severe burns are reported in renowned international health centres too, but
it’s true that the number of such cases could have been smaller in Romania if
the country had a specialised hospital at western standards, in a totally new
building. The Government has recently announced its plan to implement a
national programme for burn patients, as of next year.