Softić-Taljanović: The accident in Ilidža occurred at 1:21 PM, Emergency Services did everything they should have

On Monday, May 23, an accident occurred at a construction site in Ilidža when a worker Safet Prazina (42) fell from the 7th to the 3rd floor, and died from his injuries the same day at 5:30 PM at UKCS, writes the Patria News Agency.  

However, this case was accompanied by inaccurate information published in most media outlets, stating that the accident occurred after 3 PM, that the patient underwent surgery, and that he died during the night due to the severity of his injuries.

As the director of the Institute for Emergency Medical Services, Sena Softić-Taljanović, told the Patria News Agency, the Emergency Services call center received a call at 1:21 PM reporting an accident at a construction site on Butmirska cesta street.

- The nearest team was dispatched via radio communication and arrived at the scene at 1:29 PM. At the scene, on the third floor, the Emergency Medical Services team found Safet Prazina lying on his side, whom his colleagues had moved from the place of the fall to another location and placed him on styrofoam.

The team proceeded to examine and treat the patient. It was determined that the patient was unconscious, had difficulty breathing, and was taking only five breaths per minute, with his pupils maximally dilated and unresponsive to light. Blood pressure was unmeasurable. The team immediately stabilized his head and cervical spine, opened his airway, and began artificial respiration with maximum oxygen supply. This patient was transferred to the ambulance, and the team decided to transport him to the General Hospital "Prim.dr. Abdulah Nakaš" for the simple reason that the doctor determined his Glasgow Coma Scale score was 3. That is a poor prognosis, and death should only be declared – said Softić-Taljanović.

However, the patient was transported to the General Hospital, and in the immediate vicinity of the hospital, a cardiac monitor showed cardiac arrest, meaning the patient was dead.

- The team stopped the vehicle and began resuscitation with external chest compressions and assisted artificial respiration, administering appropriate therapy according to international standards. Working in the ambulance, they arrived at the General Hospital and handed over the patient to the on-call team of the General Hospital at 1:59 PM – said Softić-Taljanović.

After examination at the General Hospital and surgical intervention, given the severity of the injuries, the patient was further referred to UKCS. According to information available to the Patria agency, the patient was admitted to KUM by the on-call surgeon, who, after examination, ordered him to be taken to Radiology, where a CT scan of the head, cervical spine, and facial bones was performed at 4:40 PM. Also, these injuries were not fatal, raising questions as to why a CT scan was performed.

Upon returning from Radiology to Abdominal Surgery, one of the more experienced abdominal surgeons requested that the patient be taken for emergency surgery, which was done. However, it was already too late for Safet Prazina; he died just before the operation.

Regarding the entire drama that unfolded at UKCS, director Sebija Izetbegović told Patria that she allegedly heard about this case for the first time.

The circumstances under which the accident occurred are also being investigated by the KS Prosecutor's Office, which has opened a case and, upon the prosecutor's order, an autopsy of the deceased Safet Prazina was performed.

According to the forensic expert, judicial medicine specialist Hamza Žujo, who performed the autopsy, Safet Prazina had injuries to his abdomen and chest, but he did not answer the question of whether these caused his death.

On the other hand, the question arises as to how much time, crucial for saving human lives, is lost when Emergency Services transport patients first to the General Hospital, and then from the General Hospital to UKCS.

The practice of sending all patients to the General Hospital instead of the UKCS Emergency Center on Mondays and Fridays has not been officially approved in writing to date by the KS Minister of Health Zilha Ademaj, who, as a reminder, stated that it was a trial phase to see if the new system would work.

The admission of patients to the Emergency Department of the General Hospital on Mondays and Fridays is an agreement between the acting director of the General Hospital, Sead Bašić, and the director of UKCS, Sebija Izetbegović. This practice has been applied at the request of director Izetbegović since April 4.

When we asked the director of Emergency Services, Sena Softić Taljanović, how this practice complicates the work of Emergency Services, she said:

- If I have an agreement on paper between the director of the General Hospital and the Clinical Center that patients are taken to the General Hospital on Mondays and Fridays, I do not wish to violate that agreement for a single moment, nor have my institution bear the consequences.

Taljanović stated that she has a written decision signed by Bašić and Izetbegović.

- It was an extended meeting, there were three or four options in those negotiations, and this option of Monday and Friday was chosen. I just said that if I were to choose, I would never choose Monday and Friday.

When asked why not, Taljanović said:

- I would choose Tuesday and Thursday. Based on experience. Monday is the hardest working day of the week. I gave a suggestion, if I were you, I would choose Tuesday and Thursday, I swear. I know which are my hardest days, I know what Friday is like. All the problems, everything happens in this city on Fridays. I fear Fridays. It's a difficult day. I say from experience, don't do this and that, and you say, I want to do exactly that. I will respect every agreement, Emergency Services will respect it – said the director of Emergency Services.

She added at the end that Emergency Services is primary healthcare, but that she cannot be the host either at the General Hospital or at UKCS.

- I am responsible for what happens here, and let everyone be responsible for their actions and inactions – concluded Softić-Taljanović.