Hoang Cong Luong case 'may be wrongful due to absence of former director'

On May 24, the eighth day of the trial of the case that occurred at Hoa Binh General Hospital, the lawyers continued their arguments and stated their views on the responsibility of the former hospital director Truong Quy Duong. Mr. Duong had previously repeatedly failed to appear in court.

Lawyer Tran Vu Hai (defending defendant Bui Manh Quoc) requested to review the responsibility of the investigation agency and the representative of the prosecutor's office. They let the "case become deadlocked and prolonged" when they failed to invite former director Truong Quy Duong to court. There was a civil economic dispute, but the investigation agency allowed Mr. Duong to leave the country.

Lawyer Hai said that this is the biggest medical incident ever in Vietnam. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health did not issue a procedure for blood filtration and operation of the RO water filtration system, but issued the regulations after the incident. Therefore, Mr. Hai proposed to handle the responsibility of the Ministry of Health.

Lawyer Nguyen Danh Hue emphasized that Hoa Binh General Hospital was not at fault, but the responsibility belonged to its head. Mr. Hue also requested that Mr. Truong Quy Duong be summoned before and during the trial, but the panel of judges did not do so. "Mr. Duong's absence from court could have caused a miscarriage of justice," Mr. Hue said.

According to Mr. Hue, Thien Son Company was “very irresponsible” when it sold the contract and then did not supervise the implementation. This was the key to the incident that killed 9 people.

DebateagainRegarding Mr. Truong Quy Duong's exit from the country, the prosecutor affirmed that there was no basis for banning him from leaving the country because Mr. Duong was not a suspect, defendant or person about to be prosecuted. The investigation agency and the representative of the institute determined that Mr. Duong's status was that of a person with related rights and obligations.

Thien Son Company representative said that they did not sell the contract as many lawyers said. Quoc still works as a Thien Son employee and they take full responsibility for the hospital.

"Hoa Binh General Hospital is very irresponsible"

Lawyer Nguyen Tien Thuy(defending defendant Tran Van Son)said that the issue related to the AAMI index needs to be reconsidered because it is not feasible. The law does not require AAMI testing, so if the user does not test, who is responsible? There is also no professional council with knowledge of the medical field to evaluate in the most objective way.

Agreeing, lawyer Hue said that Thien Son Company itself did not understand what AAMI testing was, not just the hospital. The key reason why 9 victims died while undergoing dialysis was because Thien Son transferred the "contract" to an incompetent company like Tram Anh. Tram Anh Company's director, Bui Manh Quoc, was not trained and only worked with "12 years of experience".

DThien Son representative said that “Hoa Binh General Hospital is very irresponsible and disregards other people’s lives”. Doctors and nurses did not know anything about the AAMI testing process. “Doctors and nurses blame Thien Son and the machine manufacturer. This is an act of contempt for the law”, the representative said.

This person suggested that the hospital should “pay attention to its responsibilities” when from the management to the doctors and staff, no one took responsibility. The incident happened due to “negligence of the hospital’s leaders and staff” but they blamed Thien Son Company and the machine manufacturer.

The prosecutor's representative objected,The lawyer said that Son did not know that the AAMI test was incorrect. Son was the one who made the repair proposal and quoted the price of the equipment, so he should have known about the AAMI test. Specifically, on May 29, 2017, Son also went to the artificial kidney unit to take a water sample for testing, but because the machine was already operating, the water could not be collected. "If Son did not know about the AAMI test, why did he do it?" - the prosecutor asked.

"Need to hold the hospital supplies department head accountable"

Regarding responsibility for the incident, lawyer Nguyen Tien ThuyAccording to the regulations issued by the Ministry of Health, the first person responsible is Mr. Tran Van Thang (Head of the Supplies Department). Mr. Thang must be the first person to check the equipment and then transfer it to the nurses. However, no one has asked clearly about the organizational structure of the nurses, causing many people to mistakenly think that they belong to the artificial kidney unit.

However, the representative of the People's Procuracy said that Son had been assigned specific tasks by the head of the material department, Tran Van Thang, and these were written on a board hanging in the department. Mr. Thang had every right to assign tasks to his subordinates. The defendant Son himself admitted to working in management and repair since 2013.

Agreeing with the prosecutor's opinion, lawyer Nguyen Danh Hue said that the department head has the responsibility to assign work to employees. Mr. Thang's assignment of tasks to Son is correct.

On the afternoon of May 23, National Assembly delegate Nguyen Lan Hieu (Associate Professor, Doctor of Medicine) said that he closely followed the trial because this was an important event for the medical industry. He found something unusual: many pieces of evidence were presented, witnesses were invited by the lawyer but were not accepted by the court. During the trial, many unclear issues were also revealed surrounding the contract, the addition of decisions and assignments to the meeting minutes... The National Assembly delegate said that these matters cannot be ignored.

Mr. Hieu commented that the former director of Hoa Binh General Hospital was absent from court, "unacceptable". Although he has not been proven guilty and dismissed from his position as director after the incident, the hospital he used to manage must be responsible and cannot be abandoned like that.