‘Don’t point fingers’ minister urges after complaints over boy’s hospital treatment

Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantela on Tuesday urged people “not to rush to point fingers” after doctors at Makarios hospital were accused of failing to treat an 11-year-old’s condition correctly.

“The specific doctors who treated the specific child are doctors who have saved many lives over several years and there is proof,” he said.

Last week, 11-year-old Marinos Marinou sustained serious head injuries, which caused swelling when he was thrown from a car after it struck a tree in Liopetri.

The boy was first taken to Famagusta general hospital where he was intubated and transferred to Nicosia general for surgery as his condition was critical.

He was taken to Makarios hospital in the capital for recovery.

The incident occurred last Wednesday when the driver, the boy’s 57-year-old grandmother, appears to have lost control of the car and struck a tree, later overturning and striking a wall. The boy was found on the pavement.

In a social media post almost five days after the incident, his father Giorgos Marinou said doctors at Makarios hospital failed to treat the life-threatening oedema the boy had developed following the accident.

He claimed that doctors did not inform him in a timely manner on his son’s condition, while the boy was put into an enforced coma and was being transferred daily for MRIs at Nicosia general. He said this was dangerous.

The final straw for the father came on Saturday, after another specialist was meant to see his son which led to him being taken back to the Nicosia general for a scan without his father’s knowledge. Marinou said that doctor – who examined the scan results – brushed him off, saying he was off duty.

Marinou claimed that he then got angry, banging on the doctors’ doors, demanding someone speak to him.

He was seen by Avraam Elia, the director at Makarios, who told him his behaviour was unacceptable. Elia informed him that his son’s condition had improved but they would keep him in a coma as his blood pressure had been going up and down.

Following several calls the father made to the health ministry, the boy was transferred from Makarios hospital to the American Medical Centre to be treated by Vasilis Zerris, flown in from Greece by the health ministry.

The father claimed that on Sunday morning Dr Zerris said the child was received from Makarios Hospital in a horrid state and that he needed to have surgery immediately to reduce the swelling in the brain.

According to the father, the boy is now in a better condition.

The father also made claims that the doctors at Makarios had been giving his son the wrong dosage of medicines, which he allegedly learned from Zerris.

Hadjipantela said it was a very difficult incident and indicated that if a complaint is filed he will examine it.

Okypy, which operates the hospital, said that they have started to record the facts, based on the claims made by the father.

“The priority for us at Okypy is the health of the child. We are at the parents’ disposal for any help and we wish him a speedy recovery,” it said. “Our doctors made superhuman efforts to save his life, as they consistently do every day”.

Okypy said it will also look into the complaints made by the father.