Death of a Child in Vardenis Hospital is Utterly Outrageous: MP

MP Taguhi Tovmasyan from the 'My Step' faction wrote: “The case of a child's death recorded in Vardenis hospital on December 10 is utterly outrageous. Why? Because, to briefly summarize, the situation of 32-year-old Ineta Galstyan, who lost her baby boy and is currently in serious condition in the intensive care unit, is a consequence of the cycle of irresponsibility that passes through the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Defense, and the Gegharkunik Regional Administration.

The issue is that since 2017, Vardenis hospital has been in the process of merging with the military hospital of the Ministry of Defense, and for about three years, this issue has not been resolved. Last time, I organized a discussion regarding this issue at the hospital in September, but to this day, due to various legal wranglings, the future of the hospital remains unclear; the institution has not fully come under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense, and the regional administration also cannot, as a representative of the Government, augment the institution with specialists.

As a result, a resident of Tsovak, who approached the Vardenis maternity clinic with obstetric complications, was unable to receive medical assistance and was immediately directed to Martuni Medical Center. According to the acting director of the Vardenis hospital, who is currently on leave, there was an indication for an emergency cesarean section. However, since the hospital lacks a 24-hour anesthesiologist, they were immediately sent to Martuni.

Under such conditions, after traversing at least 30 minutes of distance and arriving in Martuni, it was impossible to save the life of the intrauterine baby at 37 weeks deprived of nourishment. I also recently spoke with Andranik Poghosyan, the deputy director of obstetrics at Yerevan 'Erebuni' Medical Center, under whose supervision the mother is currently. He informed me that her life is not in danger and she is in stable condition.

Here, I find it necessary to remind of the mission of the Ministry of Health of Armenia, which does not start and end with the anti-smoking struggle. “The mission of the Ministry of Health is... to organize the provision of primary and specialized medical assistance and services to the population, to implement policies aimed at maintaining maternal and child health, and to organize measures to improve the health of the population and the monitoring of the health condition... ”

And therefore the question arises: why is the Ministry not fulfilling its official duties and why are there still no specialists in Vardenis hospital (and not only in the field of obstetrics)? Why does the hospital not have a 24-hour anesthesiologist? How many deaths must be recorded before Minister Arsen Torosyan begins to genuinely address the issues of Vardenis hospital?

P.S. I feel sorry for the residents of Tsovak, who were joyfully preparing for the birth of a child, but a misfortune occurred. Ineta, I pray for you. Do not despair; life is ahead.

P.S. The photo is from the operating room of Vardenis hospital.