The prosecutors brought, on Thursday, new details regarding the death of a patient from the St. Pantelimon hospital of Bucharest's District 2, who went into cardio-respiratory arrest, after two doctors suddenly reduced his dose of noradrenaline, an essential substance in the intensive therapy with a role in maintaining blood pressure.

Thus, the Public Prosecutor's Office maintains that, before the doctors reduced his dose of noradrenaline for the second time, the patient's condition had improved.

"The 54-year-old patient was admitted to the hospital on March 17, and due to the deterioration of his health, he was transferred to the ICU on March 25. On March 26, the first sudden reduction in the dose of noradrenaline. In the following days, the patient's condition improved, he was even visited by the family. On April 4, the dose of noradrenaline was reduced and the death occurred", said a representative of the Public Prosecutor's Office.

Two women physicians with the ICU Department of the St. Pantelimon Emergency Clinical Hospital were arrested on Wednesday by prosecutors for qualified murder, in the case of suspicious deaths, being accused of having caused the death of a patient in a serious condition in intensive care.

In the same file, C.M., a nurse in the Anesthesia and Intensive Care Department of the same hospital, was charged with the crime of continuous perjury.

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The minister of Health, Alexandru Rafila, said on Thursday that the medical director of the St. Pantelimon hospital submitted his resignation, and the manager of the medical unit will also resign.

According to him, the Control Body of the Minister of Health verifies matters of an administrative nature.

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The anesthesiologists and intensive care physicians with the St. Pantelimon Emergency Clinical Hospital went on spontaneous strike on Thursday, providing only emergencies, guard duty and treatment of patients in the ICU department, announced the manager of the hospital, Bogdan Socea, adding that medical doctors "claim the attitude and climate in which they work".

"The anesthesiologists and intensive care physicians who are in the hospital decided to go on a spontaneous strike and not to give anesthesia to chronic or scheduled patients. Of course, they cover the emergency room, the guard, plus the patients who are in therapy. Ten interventions were postponed, to the first hour. They said that they are preparing a paper in which they will all sign that they are resigning from the contract with the guards and the hospital," Socea stressed.

The manager of the St Pantelimon Emergency Clinical Hospital Bogdan Socea, declared that he will resign in the context of the arrest for qualified murder of two ICU physicians from the medical unit he leads and said that he did not write his resignation and did not send it yet to the Ministry of Health.

He added "I don't cling to this position. I have been a surgeon in this hospital since 2001. I will continue my activity as before being a manager," Socea added.

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Prime minister Marcel Ciolacu believes that the situation at the St Pantelimon Hospital is very serious, because it is about premeditated murder, recalling that, following an inspection, the College of Physicians said that "nothing is happening". Yet, he added, "we have to let the investigation take place".AGERPRES(RO - authors: Livia Popescu, Eusebi Manolache, editor: Mihai Simionescu; EN - editor: Maria Voican)