Two patients were mistaken in Slovenia and one of them was cremated with an incorrect identity. This tagging incident was described on Thursday as “totally unacceptable” by the Slovenian authorities.
“Someone cremated their father yesterday only to find out the next day that he was alive, while another family realized it was their relative who was actually dead,” Health Minister Danijel Besic Loredan said during a Press conference.
The two men in wheelchairs were the same age, came from the same nursing home and had been transferred to Celje hospital (north-east) for health reasons in the same ambulance.
Two days later, one of them died and the wrong family was notified. After the mandatory forensic examination, he arranged for the cremation of his body and a funeral.
The nursing home discovers the error
The mistake was discovered when the other man returned to the nursing home after his recovery. Staff then realized that he was wearing the wrong ID tag on his wrist.
“In the age of digitization in the 21st century, this is totally unacceptable,” the visibly dismayed minister reacted to reporters, adding that the error should never have occurred even if one of the patients suffered from advanced dementia.
The Minister of Health offered to resign, but the Slovenian Prime Minister rejected his offer. On the other hand, three members of the hospital management, including the general director, have announced that they will leave their duties, specifies the Slovenian television channel N1.
An investigation was also opened to determine the precise responsibilities.
Source: BFM TV
