Patient with Pneumonia Died After Being Transferred from 'St. Grigor Lusavorich' Hospital to 'Erebuni'

A tragic incident occurred last night: a 47-year-old man transferred from the Abovyan Medical Center to Yerevan passed away on the way.

The director of the medical center, Vardan Manukyan, confirmed this information in a conversation with Factor.am. He stated that the patient had pneumonia, they admitted him at night, and a few hours later transferred him to Yerevan. “He had severe pneumonia confirmed by an X-ray. Tests revealed he also had multiple organ failure. He was stabilized and transferred to Yerevan. He had issues with consciousness,” the director detailed.

According to him, the ambulance transported the patient to the 'St. Grigor Lusavorich' hospital in Yerevan, but they did not accept him because there was no confirmed case of coronavirus. It should be recalled that during the last government meeting, it was announced that 'St. Grigor Lusavorich' has been reprofiled and treats only patients infected with coronavirus.

“He was taken there because that hospital only accepts confirmed coronavirus cases. He was then transferred to 'Erebuni' Medical Center and due to his poor condition, he passed away,” he added.

The spokesperson for 'St. Grigor Lusavorich' hospital, Tsvetana Khachatryan, also told Factor.am that the ambulance did not establish contact with the hospital before transferring the patient. “Without calling or confirming, the ambulance brought him to us, but since there was no confirmed case of coronavirus, they didn’t accept him because the directive is to admit only those confirmed cases,” she stated.

Factor.am asked Vardan Manukyan why they transferred a pneumonia patient to 'St. Grigor Lusavorich' when it only accepts coronavirus cases. “Given the overall condition and severity, they brought him to a closer clinic, but, apparently, the clinic was prepared to accept only confirmed cases,” he explained.

Manukyan noted that there was no confirmed case of coronavirus for the patient. He had approached the Abovyan Medical Center that night, and after a few hours, they decided to transfer him to Yerevan. Prior to this, he had been treated at home for several days for pneumonia per the instructions of his family doctor.

Subsequently, the patient was transferred from 'St. Grigor Lusavorich' around 4:00 AM to 'Erebuni' Medical Center. However, clinical death was recorded in the emergency room.

“The patient was brought in, and he died immediately in the emergency room. We didn’t have time to provide medical assistance. I cannot say what issues he had since we have sent for forensic autopsy,” said the director of the 'Erebuni' Medical Center, Mikael Manukyan.