Woman from Rostov-on-Don complains to Medvedev of negligence of Moscow hospital

Elena Kolosova, a resident of Rostov-on-Don, states that employees and bosses of medical institutions have disregarded the rights of the mother and the child and neglected her personal dignity. She appealed to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in connection with the surgery made on her son Yaroslav, as she believes, badly, and with the bad attitude of the medical personnel of the Russian Children's Clinical Hospital (RCCH) in Moscow to their patients.

As noted by Ms Kolosova in her appeal to Medvedev, "all the ways, possible at the moment, to achieve compliance with the law and humane treatment of children at the RCCH," have been exhausted by her.

For 7 months already Elena Kolosova has been staying at the RCCH, where her son Yaroslav is treated at the Medical Genetics Ward. He was born on October 29, 2009, in Rostov-on-Don, and on the second day after his birth he was operated on at the City Hospital No. 20 with the diagnoses of mucoviscidosis (cystic fibrosis), mixed form, grave condition.

On May 18, 2010, the child with his mother arrived in the RCCH; however, in Moscow, as Ms Kolosova says, she faced gross negligence, indifference and immediate threat to the life and health of her son. As she stated in her appeal, within one day of therapy Yaroslav "was brought from stable into extremely grave condition." Furthermore, as the woman asserts, she was denied information about the ongoing treatment and about administration and application of vital medication.

"I have a feeling that people who come from regions are treated as 'third-grade beings'; or they indirectly extort money; and if you don't pay, you'll never get due care and attention!" Elena wrote.

She notes that she has appealed to the General Public Prosecutor of the Russian Federation, Minister of Public Health and Social Development and Chief Physician of the RCCH demanding to conduct a proper check and punish those guilty, but all was fruitless. The Chief Physician answered after 7 months that all of the listed violations had resulted in some organizational conclusions only.

Ms Kolosova also writes that after that incident her child was operated on twice, but unsuccessfully. Before the New Year the boy felt worse, but the medical staff ignored that.

"Until October 20, 2010, my son was in the intensive care unit of the RCCH; then, with an open abdominal cavity he was transferred to me (his mother) to the Genetics Ward, Box No. 2. I was told that the child would be better there! And then - solve your problems yourself!" the mother writes on the pages of the LiveJournal. "I think that cases where mother herself has to 'clean' the open bowels of her son, replacing the whole intensive care unit, are extremely rare in medical practice."

"Being now 'blocked' by surgeons and hospital administration, when we are just isolated and not cared about after two failed surgeries in December 2010, I've addressed on my own initiative to foreign clinics," says the woman, noting that Moscow doctors even refused to give her the medical conclusion about the condition of her son.

She asks Medvedev to help her son, to order to make a respective check and to punish those guilty. The woman also hopes that her appeal will draw attention of Pavel Astakhov, Ombudsman for Children's Rights at the Russian President. She has posted photos and a video of her son on the LiveJournal, showing that prior to treatment at the Moscow hospital the boy felt a lot better.

So far, nothing is known about the attitude of the RCCH doctors to the moved charges.

The appeal of Elena Kolosova, posted on the Internet, has caused outrage among LiveJournal readers. The post is on the head page of the LiveJournal and has gathered 763 comments.