Scandal at Zurich Heart Clinic Law enforcement authorities come under fire
The scandal at the Zurich Cardiac Surgery Clinic, which has brought around 70 avoidable deaths to light, has now revealed that attempts to bring criminal proceedings against its former director Francesco Maisano have come to nothing.
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- A report published on Tuesday (5.5.) confirmed serious irregularities in cardiac surgery at the University Hospital Zurich between 2016 and 2020.
- There was an excess mortality of up to 74 deaths as well as several unexpected deaths and problematic procedures.
- According to a new media report, earlier attempts to bring criminal proceedings against the heart clinic failed.
- The proceedings had been shelved together with a complaint from the patient center.
- However, the serious misconduct at the heart clinic that has now been proven could actually have criminal consequences for those responsible.
According to the "Neue Zürcher Zeitung", the Zurich High Court has halted criminal proceedings against the heart clinic of the University Hospital Zurich (USZ). In summer 2020, the public prosecutor's office opened preliminary investigation proceedings on its own initiative "regarding possible criminal acts by Francesco Maisano", as the newspaper writes.
The reason for this was a report commissioned by the hospital management after a whistleblower made an internal report. The proceedings were shelved together with a complaint from the patient office, the "NZZ" continues. The High Court had decided not to authorize the public prosecutor's office to initiate criminal proceedings. The Zurich Patient Advice Center had accused Maisano and his team of violating their duty of care.
On Tuesday, a commission of inquiry published a report according to which it investigated a total of 307 deaths that occurred between October 2014 and May 2020. It came to the shocking conclusion that 68 to 74 patients would not have died during Maisano's term of office if they had been treated according to current standards.
New attempt by the public prosecutor's office
According to the report, the Patient Advice Center filed charges against Maisano - then Director of the Cardiac Surgery Clinic - and his team in June 2020. At the time, Erika Ziltener was head of the patient center and looked after several patients who were "allegedly harmed" at the heart clinic, writes the NZZ. Ziltener describes the incidents at the university hospital as "one of the most shocking things I have experienced as a patient advocate".
According to the NZZ, the serious misconduct at the heart clinic that has now been proven could actually have criminal consequences for those responsible. On Tuesday, it became known that charges had been filed with the public prosecutor's office in three cases. The allegations: suspected negligent homicide, negligent (grievous) bodily harm and forgery of documents.
The public prosecutor's office must now examine whether the conditions for opening criminal proceedings are met.
Criticism from Zurich politicians
According to the report, politicians in Zurich have been discussing for some time whether the prosecution authorities "have remained inactive in this matter - and how this can be explained". And: politicians and critical observers have long been asking how it could be that the public prosecutor's office never announced the opening of a criminal investigation.
