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Autumn 2013: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in Tallinn: human rights should be taken seriously by every government
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon hold a speech at Tallinn University on November 16, 2013 during his two-day visit to Estonia, stressing that dignity for all should be our main principle and highlighting many important problems in his speech to hundreds of students, diplomats and officials. After taking a chance after his presentation to deliver welcome wishes to UN Secretary General also from the staff of United Nations mission to Estonia in 90s, including myself as UN Information and Coordination Officer at the Office of UN Resident Coordinator I also noted to Ban Ki-moon that when you step out for human righths in Estonia you are simply smashed down by the current government, but you learn this and how corrupted that system really is only when you find itself in situation like that. I would have wished a lot that UN Secretary General would have had a chance to meet also leaders of Estonian Patient´s Advocacy Association to get the more honest picture about what the struggle for human rights, including in health care really means in todays Estonia and how vast is the corrupted ring of officials up to Chief Prosecutor Norman Aas, Justice Minister Hanno Pevkur and many more who do their best to cover up even the most severe abuse cases in Estonian hospitals.
Read also: Human rights report 2012 about torture and abuse in Estonian hospitals.
Spring 2013: UN report about the torture in health care
On March 5, 2013 United Nationas launched a report about the torture and violation of human rights in health care establishments. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture, Juan. E. Méndez called for an international debate on abuses in health-care settings that may cross a threshold of maltreatment equivalent to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The very welcomed UN report can be find here.
2 Estonian prosecutors falsificate facts and evidence to close the cases
Autumn 2012/winter 2013. North Estonian prosecutor Endla Ülviste closed in autumn 2012 criminal case about the abuse, torture and violation of human rights at the biggest governmental PERH hospital in Tallinn in autumn 2009. Ülviste signed the decision a day before Estonian doctor´s union leaderhip agreed to suspend the doctors pay strike. Several members of the union leadership had been personally involved helping to cover up the same case. Soon after Ülviste´s colleague prosecutor Kristel Eliste closed in November 2012 the criminal case launched in 2011 upon the appeal of the Estonian Patient Advocacy Association about lies and the violations of several laws by state health surveillance inspector Peeter Mardna who has helped to cover up the same hospital abuse case since autumn 2009.
Mardna, the high rank health official in Estonia also during Soviet occupation when the country was run by KGB and communist party is paid extra money also by the hospitals whose council member he is despite being same time state health surveillance inspector. Lies of Mardna had been partly used by prosecutor Endla Ülviste to close the hospital criminal case supervised by her since spring 2010.
Closing both criminal cases all of sudden both prosecutors Ülviste and Eliste falsificated several facts and Eliste has been also caught deliberately hiding the fact of evidence in order to release the state health inspector from criminal proceedings for his legal violations and lies used partly also by the prosecutors.
"This is how the severe hospital abuse cases are slammed down in Estonia. It is far not seldom case but a style we have seen by authorities for nearly 20 years," Estonian Patient Advocacy Association summarised the another cover up, adding that only international assistance and pressure might bring a change one day. "Nothing changes unless cases like that will be taken to international level," the association head added.
The hospital and medical staff involved got also help from Marika Väli, Deputy director of Estonian Forensic Science Institute who had no problem to falsificate some facts in her "expertise" herself. Among other things Väli signed a lie that there "is no proof in medical records" that a patient in abuse case was chained to bed in hospital. However, there is the evidence, written clearly by nursers whose records the hospital and authorities didnt manage all to falsificate.
In order to save another nurse who had left helpless young patient naked next to open window by morning in chilly Baltic October, another means were found - the nurse was simply not contacted at all neither bothered with any question by police or prosecutor. That didnt avoid prosecutor to declare that the acts of torture "were found groundless". All medicine and food taken off without any legal right? That cruelity - first ignored for long - was decided to be covered up with simply ignoring the facts. Etc. etc. Long, long list of lies.
If you wonder what happens in Estonia when even prosecutors and high level state experts falsificate facts and evidence to cover up brutal hospital cases and you might conclude that probably - as you read it here - nothing follows the answer is correct, as of the end of March 2013 long list of what and how was falsificated has simply been ignored.
The very long list of misconduct, lies, falsifications, ignorance of facts- all of what can be proved with medical files and criminal file documents - filed by one of Tallinn wellknown law firm that went through all the case related documents was just ignored as well.
Among the main reasons why things like that can happen is also the wide and strong backing from some top politicians. Estonian 2009-2012 Social Minister Hanno Pevkur, who decided not to punish health surveillance inspector for his lies and violations of several laws while covering up the case in state supervised hospital, is since autumn 2012 the Justice Minister.
Last, not least - almost all involved in helping to slam down hospital abuse cases got their medical or juridical education - and seemingly also relevant ethical standards - during Soviet era.
The general attitude not only the medical staff involved but also authorities in Estonia seem to hail is that when a person is ill he or she has no similar human rights one might presume are integral part of everyone´s rights as stated in UN conventions on human rights and torture.
June 2012 - no changes. Several
new cases about
patients abuse have been revealed in Estonian media in recent weeks,
but there is still nothing but silence from parliament regarding our
call
for patients rights law. Estonian daily Postimees quoted a story this
week about a patient who
had just perished this week - after operation at Tallinn biggest
hospital PERH the man was left bleeding
from his operation wound in his hospital bed for full day and was
discovered like that only after
her daughther arrived to hospital! Just a week before another story
from another Tallinn hospital about abusive treatment of patient was
revealed in media and
once again, was followed by complete denial of problem both by those
involved and Social Ministry health officials. The Soviet era
communist elite doctor Peeter Mardna, who will turn 80 in few years is
still firmly in office there despite all
his falsifications and lies in medical surveillance cases and the
pending criminal investigation about is unlawful activities that the
social minister Hanno Pevkur (since autumn 2012 Justice Minister) itself
has helped
to cover up. The way all the topic is handled in Estonia keeps reminding
a lot
the Soviet era - no man, no problem and when a problem is revealed the
credo of responsible officials seems to be - target
the victim, not the problem.
Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip who is one of those on denial and even refused to answer last year to Patients union letter about brutal abuse of patients in some Estonian hospitals has repeatedly slammed on matter with claim that "Estonian health care is one of the best in world". Just recently OECD revealed a report on topic where the unsufficient level of medical treatment in Estonia was underlined with note that there really are problems with the shortages of quality of modern medical treatment in Estonia.
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Useful readings:
March 2012/2013, New criminal cases about killings of patients in
Brazil and Uruguay reveal more mechanisms available and used at
intensive care by the doctors and nursers putting themselves above the
law. Reuters overview here and CNN here.
September 2012 - Wall Street Journal/ US Johns Hopkins Surgeon Marty Makary: How to stop Hospitals from Killing Us. Brilliant article by surgeon Marty Makary about most necessary steps to decrease medical mistakes here.
March 19, 2012. Another case of medical staff killing patients - even in a country like Uruguay the law is law and hospital killers are taken to jail. Read the CNN news about Uruguay nursers who killed dozens of patients here.
January 5, 2012. Our hope that the new parliament elected in spring 2011 will finally start to value the fight for patients rights has turned out to be an illusion: instead of that the parliament adopted the budget for 2012 that cuts three times the money allocated to the already tiny budget of Patients Advocacy Association compared to 2011. The step is largely seen as revenge by the Social Ministry that has shown its anger regarding the several active steps taken by Patients Advocacy Association in 2011 to highlight the violations of human rights at some Estonian, mainly Tallinn hospitals and lack of objective medical surveillance. The way some officials at the government punish NGO for its good work in protecting human rights/patients rights is vindictive and simply shameful.The patients union survives in 2012 only thanks to help from George Soros funded international institute dealing with human rights.
2011
December 7, 2011. An old doctor, head of doctors ethics committee who once chaired the all medical department of the only university in Estonia where you can learn to become a doctor was found guilty in court this week for falsificating a document in illegal drug tests case. Another doctor who carried out the illegal tests several years ago, was also sentenced now and got fine equal to nearly four years average annual salary in Estonia. The medical tests were carried out without the licence to use the drug involved in tests and when the scandal was feared to broke out the over 70-year old medical professor, head of medical tests ethics committee agreed to falsificate a missing document. Another example about lack of respect to laws in Estonian health care. What makes the case particularly sad is that the doctor who falsificated the document has worked as head of university medical department and also lead the ethics committee where you expect people to have some kind of ethical standards and at least to be honest. The old professor explained his illegal step in court with words: I wished to save the good reputation of doctors and my university. "Golden" words, accounting how his colleague in Tallinn, 73-year old health state inspector has violated legislation regulating the work of medical complaints commission and has managed for long to escape any punishment for that.
November 19, 2011. Estonian Social Minister Hanno Pevkur got very upset when he was reminded at the launch of corruption study in Estonian health care that he has been personally involved in health care surveillance corruption that has involved - against the valid law - including to his ministry commission the colleagues of doctors suspected in severe hospital abuses and medical mistakes to charge the activities of their colleagues. In autumn 2011 another criminal investigation has been opened upon the request of one legal institution and Patients Union regarding the violations of law and deliberate lies about victims and their relatives by the long time medical surveillance inspector Peeter Mardna.
According to the head of Estonian Patient Union Ms. Pille Ilves Social Ministry has reacted to the 2011 criticism by the union about patients abuses in several hospitals and lack of objective medical surveillance procedures by cutting the 2012 budget of the Patients Union four times in the budget draft currently in parliament. Patients Union has applied to parliament for help, asking also to redirect their financial allocations by state from Social Ministry to some other institution in order to avoid the constant payback by the ministry to Patients Union for dealing with the rights of patients and hospital abuse cases too actively.
November 8, 2011. Study about corruption and fraud in Estonian health sector, ordered by Justice Ministry in 2010 and compiled by Tartu University launched. Use Google translation to read it. Note there is also English summary in it. The text in full is here.
November 2, 2011. All Souls Day in Estonia today, prayers and wishes to all our loved ones.
Estonian doctors union (far not all doctors are its members) had an event called conference on ethics last week in Tallinn. It turned out the organisers had completely excluded two main topics related to ethics from its program. No speech on how decrease the wide practice of asking bribes by doctors (who, according to Justice Ministry annual corruption studies 2009, 2010 are most bribe taking professionals in Estonia, 9% (!) of those asked said their doctor has asked for bribe, summary of 2010 study here . And no speech on how to increase patients safety and reach the patient rights law that Estonia still lacks. Doctors union has just declared its not supporting the draft of patient law presented by two MPs this autumn. The study up at Tartu University site that estimates 1500 perish annually in Estonia due to medical mistakes seems to irritate lot of soviet minded doctors. Some of those old minded requested at the event that when articles about patients abuse are revealed in media doctors involved should have right to reveal in turn the private medical data about these patients. Highly nazy-like approach, or, accounting their communistic background, stalinistic approach. Whether the patient was a little ill or bit more ill or very ill can not justify the abuses neither the violation of criminal legislation in hospitals and people behind those abuses can not hide their responsibility behind the cry for getting right to humilate their victims with revealing whatever they wish from medical data that in case of Estonia can even still be falsificated after problems occur. This kind of practice would decrease even more the courage of people to reveal hospital abuses, even now many people are scared to speak publicly, despite speaking openly to patients union. Some top members (and also ex-communists) of doctors union (Andres Ellamaa, Peeter Mardna) have been caught violating severely the legislation on medical complaint case, and (Mardna) even violating criminal law, being now under investigation. Their lies were distributed also by some others, including general secretary of doctors union Katrin Rehemaa and Toomas Kariis, head of Tallinn Doctors Union. In autumn 2010 Kariis and Marnda arranged the payment of 10 000 Estonian kroons (equal to one month average salary in Estonia) to the employee of medical news paper for compiling and publishing an article full of massive lies and falsified data by the doctors involved.
One can easily wonder are they drived by anger being rid of their Soviet era privileges or violating laws and distributing lies is just deep in blood and head from Soviet times, so it just feels right to slam down on those who have disclosed hospitals abuses. Despite my recent optimism it seems that its still a long way to go until all Estonian health system and its powerful minority of some Soviet minded doctors will accept that European standards on patient safety and human rights are an essential part of modern society.
October 16, 2011. Over a year and half since Estonian Social Ministry and the staff of Tallinn biggest hospital responsible for the abuse and death of my son on October 15, 2009 organised me a massive pay back campaign for revealing the brutal abuse incidents in that hospital, I finally got two so-called expert papers, ordered by long Soviet era official from the 80 year old man in other town and his colleague. Reading those two documents that falsificate even the facts from my son´s medical file its obvious the two had either no idea about what are our complains about or they just helped to falsificate the case too. All these documents should have been given to me already in winter 2010 according to the law, so we could point out the falsifcation before the massive attack organised by the Estonian doctors union and medical staff concerned whom Tartu University medical professor and Patient union head both called as nothing least than maffia. The so called medical quality commission at social ministry that tried to silence me and the scandal in spring 2010 violated almost all chapters of the legislation regulating the work of that commission that among other things requests that no colleagues of doctors under investigation should belong to the commission - in our case five doctors - colleagues of the doctor under investigation belonged to commission. We are still waiting in autumn 2011 for some missing documents. I wonder whether these cruel people really believed that they can avoid trial and revealing the truth.
On afternoon Oct 14, 2011 I also finally got the testimonies written by doctors after autumn 2009. I knew what to expect but reading them yesterday, on Oct 15, 2011 I was only wondering how some of them managed to lie even about the facts from medical files itself.
There has been at least some good news in last month - two Estonian MPs - social democrats Heljo Pikhof and Eiki Nestor have compiled the draft of Patients law that Estonia still lacks, despite being out from Soviet rule over 20 years by now. Both the Patients and Nursers Associations also wish to amend it with several proposals. There was an interesting debate on that draft in radio yesterday where the Soviet era educated colleague of the people who abused my son tried to ridicule the need for law on patient rights. I truelly hope current parliament will find courage to adopt the Patient Law despite even Prime Minister Andrus Ansip - who is married to doctor - and his Reform Party have been not in favor for the law on patients rights. But at least two parliament parties out of four - Social Democrats and Reform Party coalition member in parliament Pro Patria and Res Publica Union included it to their party election program in winter 2011.
On Oct 14, 2011 Tartu University launched a special website with medical treatment guidelines to increase quality in health sector and patient safety in Estonia - another good step.
Estonian business daily revealed same day it had asked the help from court in summer to find out who were behind nasty and even life-threathing comments in web after the daily published articles about some doctors travelling on expense of drug firms to trips where holiday, not work-related purpose might have been main goal, and same journalist and photographer also released candid camera video about drug company event in Tallinn that turned into alcohol party and was fined by State Agency of Medicine later with 25 000 euros for violating legislation. Well, with the help of court what was suspected was revealed - most nasty comments to revealing stories were written by some doctors who had to find out now hope to stay anonymous in net can turn into embarrassing public moment with the help of court.
One of the moments that break me fully down two years ago arrived weeks after I had lost my son when I learned that the report of the test (concluding II stage tumor) done to the piece cut off from son at what we had considered was cosmetic procedure in 2006 belonged to another person who - in difference of my son - also had some problem with eye as the test noted. The so-called cosmetic op 2006 was done in one clinic by doctor we never saw again, test sent and done in other bigger clinic as routine and the unexpected result told by third person weeks later. Some additional doc-s I have got finally last weeks have outlined that switch of first test again. That diagnosis itself has however nothing to do with complaints of abuse in hospital, described HERE.
August 8, 2011, Public letter (with the proposals on how to strengthen patient´s safety and set up an
objective commission to review medical errors and massive abuse complaints in Estonian, mainly Tallinn hospitals), compiled by the Patients Advocacy Association with the joint proposals of victims and their relatives has been sent to the Estonian parliament.
July 1, 2011, Estonian Patients Advocacy Association invited the relatives of hospital abuse victims to the roundtable in June, introduced the overview about latest abuses in hospitals and asked roundtable for the proposals on how to increase medical treatment quality in hospitals, decrease abuse of patients and call authorities to set up an objective medical errors commission. The association sent the same overview about latest abuses in Estonian, mainly Tallinn hospitals already in May also to Prime Minister A. Ansip whose adviser K. Kukk replies weeks later with short note that the association calls "no answer at all".
May 30, 2011, Social Affairs Committee of the Estonian Parliament decides to create a special working group after the committee extended session that discussed the ongoing claims about medical errors in Estonia, abuse of patients and lack of patients rights. One small step forward! Estonian Patients Advocacy Association request that the long time health quality claims supervisor Peeter Mardna will be exluded from the work of the commission due to repeated violation of legislation and personal help to cover up the medical errors and punish with lies and public humilation the patients and their relatives who have dared to disclose the cases.
May 5, 2011,
April 18, 2011,
April 6, 2011. Estonian TV program Pealtnägija revealed today with candid camera today how cruelly staff treats patients and threatens relatives and how doctors, even hospital chief of the hospital can lie without blink of eye, and how they try to cover it all up. That is the branch of same evil Estonia´s biggest PERH hospital where we were. I read after the program later the chief of the hospital branch had been sentenced to prison in 2006 for 5 years for bribing - probaly its possible only in ex-Soviet mentality that some a person like that is promoted by hospital board to superviser so many people. Just few days later another candid camera video by journalists of Estonian business daily revealed how international drug companies brainwash Estonian doctors, and how easily even in front of camera the doctors can lie without knowing their lies are illustrated with candid camera video.
March 23, 2011. Coalition program for next government released after recent elections - turns out Estonian Reform party chaired by PM Andrus Ansip has kicked off the coalition partner´s election promise to compile and adopt finally Patient Rights Law in Estonia that the ex-Soviet state still lacks unlike Nordic and most Western states. No wonder, ex-communist Ansip is married to a doctor working for foreign drug company like some Ansip´s friends making good profit in medicine as media has revealed. Money, not obeying human rights matter.
Feb. 3, 2011 - 94% of the 1700 people who responded to Estonian Postimees-daily net poll said they support a totally new medical errors/quality evaluation commission with lawyers, doctors and patients investigating and evaluating the medical errors instead of (current, highly corrupted system) only doctors evaluating the cases.
Feb 2, 2011 - It turned out during the meeting with the long time head of Estonian Patients Advocacy Association today that Estonian government has adopted Belarus style cover-up about the violation of human rights in some Estonian hospitals. Estonian Foreign Ministry and other official institutions involved did not even mention in the Estonian human rights report to UN 2011 the cruelity disclosed in recent years in Estonian health care. No man, no problem as already Stalin.
In light of vast criticism made by UN, Estonian Patients Advocacy Association etc about the severe violation of human rights of patients in Estonia the cover-up style of authorities is very undemocratic and rather Sovetic.Estonia presented its new human rights report to UN and the report was discussed on February 2, 2011. Despite UN has made criticism about the failure of protecting human rights in Estonian hopsitals, Estonian authorities, including Foreign Ministry excluded the topic from its report.
In its summer 2010 report about Estonia UN Human Rights Committee indicated - UN is concerned that Estonian Chancellor of Justice is not sufficiently involved in the promotion and protection of human rights, United Nations said in July 2010 report. "The State party should either provide the Chancellor of Justice with a broader mandate to more fully promote and protect all human rights or achieve that aim by some other means, in full compliance with the Paris Principles, and take into account in this regard the requirements for the national preventive mechanism under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment," UN wrote in its report about Estonia after Geneva session July 2010.
Fall 2010, 2011 : Estonian Patient Advocacy Association withdrew from state medical errors commission saying the commission is not objective, its members are not punished if they even lie and the commission is not protecting patients human rights in Estonia. In some cases the leaders of the commission have severely violated most main principles of the legislation, including against the law even the doctors from the hospital under investigation to evaluate the complains against the same hospital.
January 2011: Two Estonian parties, Fatherland and Pro Patria Union & Social Democrats include Patients Righst Law into their parliament elections program. We welcome the step and hope it will be followed also by the two major parties who have opposed the law on patients human rights the most - government coalition leading Reform party and the Central Party from opposition, both being led by ex Communists.
January 25, 2011: Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet (Reform Party) got upset at the human rights press conference in Tallinn when asked why his party that has ruled longer than any other party has not adopted neither included Patients Rights Law into its program. "It is not Reform Party meeting," the minister slammed at the press conference. The chairman of the party, PM Andrus Ansip has been as reluctant to discuss and admit the violation of law and human rights in Estonian hospitals.
January 27, 2011. "The current situation when people who have disclosed the problems in some hospitals have been punished in Estonia with libels and public condemnation organised by some high rank officials is not proper for any democratic state. Its time to start respecting human rights in Estonian hospitals," Toomas Trapido, Member of Estonian Parliament commented the year long battle for patiens rights law in a public statement. Trapido is one of MPs who disclosed a year ago his father was also tortured in Tallinn hospital, being chained to bed against his will and chemically/phyisically suppressed. "We managed to change the hospital that felt like we had switched hell to heaven," Trapido told parliament in January 2010 at the parliament session. In spring his mother, a life-time doctor who has also worked in Sweden, compared the patient-oriented hospitals and health system in Nordic States to post-Soviet Estonia, outlining several shortages in Estonian health care and stressing the need to realize problems and change them in order to make the hospitals and treatments of patients more human and respect the rights of patients.
Two major studies compiled by Justice Ministry and launched in June 2010 and September 2009 have indicated that doctors in Estonia are the most corrupted professional in that country, with 9 percent of those polled saying they have been requested a bribe by their doctor during last 12 monts. The lack of order and lack of punishment for violations committed in medicine is also damaging the reputation of honest doctors.
November 2, 2009. I am revealing in a note to media several details about the brutal treatment of my 26 year old son in Tallinn biggest hospital. Hundreds of people respond already same day on Estonian media websites decsribing cruelity they have experienced or witnessed in Estonian, mainly Tallinn and most of all in the very same hospital. Media had started to contact me already a week after my son perished there in mid-October. I wished to have at least few weeks of peace before I revealed the horror my son had to experience there. The scale of lies, falsification of documents, including by some Social Ministry health officials and the threats that followed were simply discusting. Among the people who contacted me saying they have had several similar experiences themselves were also some members of Estonian parliament of whom one was ready to launch a public struggle against the corrupted, cruel and Soviet style Estonian medicine where nobody seems to be responsible for anything, even when people are tortured and lives are lost due to medical errors followed in some most brutal cases by violent euthanasia in hope the dead dont speak, relatives are broken down and nobody will get punished.
Back to full front page: http://fatalhospitalerrors.blogspot.com/.
