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UCM clarifies emergency response in death at Mides shelter
🇺🇾 Uruguay /Health & Science

UCM clarifies emergency response in death at Mides shelter

From El País · (1d ago) Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • Uruguay's Mobile Coronary Unit (UCM) clarified its role and actions following the death of a man in a Mides social shelter.
  • UCM stated it operates under contract with Mides for emergency assistance in ministry facilities, not as shelter administrators.
  • The UCM responded to an initial emergency for another user, evaluated the deceased man later, and returned the following morning when the man had already passed away.

El País sought to clarify the actions of the Mobile Coronary Unit (UCM) after a tragic incident at a Ministry of Social Development (Mides) shelter in La Teja. Ana Mieres, the technical director of UCM, explained the service's protocol and its contractual relationship with Mides.

UCM does not administer the shelters nor is it part of their structure, but rather maintains a contract with Mides... to provide assistance in emergencies and urgencies within more than 150 dependencies of the ministry.

— Ana MieresAna Mieres, technical director of UCM, clarified the organization's contractual relationship with Mides.

It is crucial to understand that UCM does not manage the Mides shelters; its role is strictly limited to providing emergency medical assistance within these facilities under a contract that was set to expire at the end of April. The UCM receives over 60 calls daily from these shelters, attending to a wide range of medical situations.

At approximately 11:30 PM, a call was received for an urgency involving another user. The medical team attended, resolved that situation, and once there, was asked to evaluate four other people.

— Ana MieresMieres described the sequence of events, noting the initial call was for a different individual.

Regarding the specific incident, Mieres detailed that the UCM's first response that night was not for the man who later died. An earlier call at approximately 11:30 PM concerned another resident. After resolving that situation, the UCM team was asked to evaluate four other individuals, including the man who tragically passed away. He was attended to around 12:50 AM, received a clinical assessment, and was discharged on-site. No further calls were received from the shelter that night.

He was attended to around 00:50. The corresponding clinical history was taken, with all the data from the examination and consultation, and he was discharged on-site.

— Ana MieresMieres detailed the medical assessment provided to the man who later died.

The situation escalated when, at 6:30 AM the following morning, the shelter staff contacted UCM again regarding the same individual. The medical team arrived 14 minutes later, only to confirm the man's death. Mieres emphasized that the initial evaluation did not warrant an emergency transfer, and the subsequent response to the morning call was prompt. The Forensic Technical Institute has been involved to determine the cause of death through an autopsy. This explanation aims to provide transparency and context to the UCM's involvement, differentiating its emergency response function from the operational management of social shelters.

From when the call was received until the mobile unit arrived, 14 minutes passed.

— Ana MieresMieres stated the response time for the second call regarding the deceased man.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El País in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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