A woman who was shot in the back was discharged from a Latvian hospital without the bullet being removed, prompting a health inspection to investigate the medical response.
In a troubling incident, a woman who suffered a gunshot wound to the back was discharged from Paula Stradiņa Clinical University Hospital without having the bullet removed. The health inspectorate is set to investigate the actions of the hospital’s doctors after the woman, who claimed to have been shot by an unknown assailant in Vakarbuļļi, was deemed stable enough to be sent home despite the bullet remaining in her body. The police are still searching for the shooter, adding urgency to the situation.
After being discharged from the Stradiņa hospital, the woman eventually underwent surgery a week later at Rīga East Clinical University Hospital, where the two-centimeter bullet was successfully removed. Hospital director Juris Nikolajenko noted that the patient's condition did not appear acute at the time of her initial visit, which led to the decision not to operate immediately. However, he acknowledged that the patient had been experiencing significant pain, warranting a follow-up procedure at a different institution.
The representatives of Stradiņa Hospital maintain that their actions were appropriate under the circumstances at the moment, attributing the issue primarily to a communication breakdown with the patient. Although the Health Minister has stated that a separate investigation will not be initiated, he emphasized the importance of timely surgical intervention in such cases to ensure the safety and well-being of patients suffering from gunshot wounds.
