Man alleges psychiatric patient killed father by disconnecting respirator at Buenos Aires hospital

A 65-year-old man hospitalized with bilateral pneumonia at Buenos Aires' Durand Hospital has died under suspicious circumstances, with his family alleging a psychiatric patient disconnected his life support.

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My dad entered without being able to breathe well. When they did tests, they found bilateral pneumonia and decided to intubate him and put him in an induced coma. His outlook was somewhat encouraging because the first day he had a fever and low oxygen, but the rest of the days he was stable, although he showed no improvement.

The victim's son, Germán, stated that the incident occurred Friday morning. He recounted that doctors found a woman standing by his father's bed with the oxygen tube in her hand after his father suffered cardiac arrest. Despite resuscitation efforts, the patient could not be saved.

Health officials from the Buenos Aires Ministry of Health confirmed the circumstances of the patient's death are under investigation. They noted that an individual unrelated to the healthcare staff entered the room during the relevant timeframe. The hospital has initiated its own internal review.

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The heads of intensive and intermediate care told us when we arrived at the hospital that when my dad had the heart attack, they went to the room and found a woman in front of my dad's bed with the oxygen tube in her hand. The head of therapy then took her out of there. Afterwards, medical personnel began resuscitation maneuvers but could not reverse it.

Reports indicate the suspect is a psychiatric patient who may have previously left other mental health facilities. She is currently in police custody. Germán also revealed his father should have been in intensive care but was in intermediate care due to a lack of beds, a situation highlighted by the Association of State Workers (ATE) as a sign of understaffing and inadequate resources for complex cases.

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He had to be in intensive care. The head of therapy told us there was no security, that's why everyone wanders everywhere. In the ER, I can believe anyone could enter, but not in intensive care.