Ethanol and water bottles ‘kept in same place’ at hospital where baby died

Bottles containing ethanol and water were kept side by side at northern Nicosia’s emergency hospital, it was heard in court on Thursday, as investigations continue into the death of a 20-day-old baby who was fed ethanol in her baby formula.

The police’s representative in court explained that “more than one water bottle” was found in the place ethanol was being stored, that only the bottles which contained ethanol was labelled in any way, and that even these labels were only handwritten.

With this in mind, he added that “more than one water bottle” was found in the place where the bottle containing ethanol which was used to feed the baby who died and the six others who were fed ethanol had been located.

He said it has now been determined which of the five hospital workers who were arrested put the ethanol in the kettle to boil, and which of the five had fed the baby using the ethanol.

To this, the defence lawyer said the death of 20-day-old Mihrimah Toymuradov was caused by “incorrect or delayed intervention” by medical staff, and that the nurse who had fed her the ethanol had told the court that Toymuradov had not exhibited any breathing difficulties or bruising at the time.

Questions were also raised regarding the conduct of the doctors on duty, with the defence lawyer stating that Toymuradov “would still be alive” if allowed to breathe naturally through her nose without being connected to a ventilator, and that the ventilator to which she was connected “was not working properly” and “had not been correctly calibrated”.

The police have launched investigation into the ventilator to determine whether it would cause any harm to the body in the short term if it was faulty or connected incorrectly.

The lawyer said, “the nurse in charge stated that the baby expired because she was connected to the wrong ventilator”.

The police representative said a total of 13 witness statements have been taken thus far, including from two doctors, and that examinations of CCTV footage from the hospital are ongoing. As such, they requested that the five hospital workers who were arrested be remanded in custody for a further seven days, and the judge acquiesced.

There were heightened security measures in and around the courthouse as the case was going on, and police were forced to intervene when a scuffle broke out between families of the seven babies and hospital workers.

While the court has remained focused on the immediate causes of Toymuradov’s death, politicians have begun to examine the wider societal factors which may have contributed to the series of events.

Opposition party CTP ‘MP’ Ceyhun Birinci pointed to the north’s burgeoning population as a potential contributing factor to the tragedy, saying, “in particular for the last two years, we have been saying we must count the population. No institution can carry this burden any more.”

“Hospitals are in this situation, too. We called for emergency measures and emergency hospitals. We said the vacancies of specialists, doctors, and nurses must be filled … It is not the nurses who are to blame. We have knowingly and willingly increased the margin of error by mismanaging the infrastructure,” he said.

He added, “if someone works for 17 hours with incomplete infrastructure, a body which is tired can of course make a mistake. There is blame at an administrative and political level.”

Independent ‘MP’ Jale Refik Rogers drew attention to the fact that ethanol was being stored in plastic bottles, saying, “anyone who allows ethanol to be stored in plastic bottles, who allows it to enter a newborn unit’s food kitchen, who allows food and chemicals to be stored in the same place, is responsible for what happened.”

“In the past, when I used to work in a laboratory, the idea of ethanol being stored in a plastic bottle was out of the question. I do not know when and how this mistake was made,” she said.

The court case came after the north’s ‘health minister’ Hakan Dincyurek was himself reported to the police over Toymuradov’s death by former Turkish Cypriot chief negotiator for the Cyprus problem Kudret Ozersay.

Ozersay had highlighted that the family of the baby who died and the other six babies who were fed ethanol “were not informed about the scandal” and that “the incident was concealed for a long time”.

This, he said, is “a matter which requires judicial investigation”, as his refusal to inform the babies’ families may make him an “accessory” to the crime.

Earlier, Cyprus Turkish nurses’ and midwives’ union chairman Ibrahim Ozgocmen had told newspaper Yeni Duzen that nurses at northern Nicosia’s emergency hospital had suggested informing the families of the situation when it first came to light, but that Dincyurek “did not find this appropriate”.

“It was said that when the babies’ situation deteriorated, the nurses wanted to inform the families, but the ministry did not allow it. This alone shows that [Dincyurek] himself must be investigated over this,” Ozersay said.

Ozgocmen had rubbished Dincyurek’s claims on Sunday that he had not informed the babies’ families or the public for 30 hours after the baby died because the police would not allow him to do so, saying he had wanted to hide.

“It was [Dincyurek] himself who was told to call the families and let them come to the hospital to explain what happened, but he did not find this appropriate.”

He added that some nurses were asked to work shifts lasting 14 or even 17 hours and working as many as 41 hours in any given two-day period.

He added that the hospital is being operated in “an environment of chaos” and that doctors “are being forced to do many things outside their job description.”