Witness blames woman’s death on state medics

An eye witness says he is ready to testify against state medics in Paphos who refused to take a patient to the hospital, a 33-year-old woman, who later died.

The victim, a Ukrainian woman living in Cyprus permanently, died Sunday after she was found unconscious by an apartment complex manager in Paphos.

According to local media reports, an eye witness called for an ambulance which came around 3pm outside the apartment complex. But state medics refused to take the woman, citing a foul smell and dirt on her trousers.

The witness said he had to call the police, who finally intervened and managed to convince the medics to agree to transport the woman to seek medical care, which took place around 6pm.

Earlier reports said the woman was taken to a private clinic but according to the witness, the state ambulance took the woman to Paphos General Hospital. Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou also said Thursday that two calls were made and both times they involved a state ambilance. 

Ioannou ordered a probe into the circumstances of the woman’s death and a preliminary report delivered Wednesday was deemed "insufficient" by the minister, who said there were some points that were unclear.

But he also said he didn’t suspect any wrongdoing but wanted to determine whether there was any violation of protocol or procedure.

Following the completion of the probe, the minister said the woman died at the state hospital after having multiple cardiac events, with doctors trying over two hours to keep her alive, he said.