The minister of Health, Alexandru Rafila, on Thursday said that he does not take responsibility for the situation at the St Pantelimon Emergency Clinical Hospital in Bucharest, as it is about „a crime of premeditated murder”, and that he has no reason to resign, in response to REPER’s request on Thursday, of dismissing the minister of Health.

The REPER leaders also requested a parliamentary investigation regarding the handling by minister Rafila of the case at the St. Pantelimon Hospital.

According to the leaders of REPER, minister Rafila’s statements in April 2024, „when he tried to diminish the seriousness of the situation, have now proven to be deeply irresponsible and potentially complicit in covering up extremely serious facts”.

In his turn, minister Rafila added that no one can intervene regarding the individual medical decision of the physician, „neither the minister of Health, nor the manager of the institute. It is his professional decision. I cannot intervene. (…) I don’t think that this problem belongs to the Ministry of Health and the health policy of the Ministry of Health,” Alexandru Rafila argued.

He said that he has no element to confirm that there was an attempt to cover up this situation and he stated that in his capacity he cannot violate the law and dismiss or hire someone except under the conditions of the law.

According to Rafila, the investigation of the Control Body of the Minister of Health was official and was done on the basis of an order.

Two physicians with the ICU Department of the St. Pantelimon Hospital were arrested on Wednesday by prosecutors for qualified murder, in the case of suspicious deaths. The two are accused of having caused the death of a patient in a serious condition in intensive care.

AGERPRES