{"id":13041,"date":"2026-04-24T15:34:56","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T13:34:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/?p=13041"},"modified":"2026-04-26T16:44:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T14:44:39","slug":"szakmai-mulasztas-miatt-vizsgaljak-a-szent-imre-korhazat-ahol-keson-ismertek-fel-egy-idos-no-halalos-infarktusat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/en\/szakmai-mulasztas-miatt-vizsgaljak-a-szent-imre-korhazat-ahol-keson-ismertek-fel-egy-idos-no-halalos-infarktusat\/","title":{"rendered":"Szent Imre Hospital in Hungary is under investigation for professional negligence after failing to diagnose an elderly woman\u2019s fatal heart attack in a time"},"content":{"rendered":"

The National Center for Public Health and Pharmacy (NCPHP) has identified several instances of negligence in the hospital care provided to Piroska, an 89-year-old woman who died of a heart attack. Direkt36 detailed the events of the evening before her death in our article in March<\/a>. The authority began investigating the D\u00e9l-Budai Centrumk\u00f3rh\u00e1z Szent Imre Egyetemi Oktat\u00f3k\u00f3rh\u00e1z (Szent Imre Hospital), after the woman\u2019s son felt that his mother\u2019s care had been negligent and filed an official complaint with the NCPHP.<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on the available documentation, it can be established with high probability that the care provided by the hospital was not appropriate for the patient\u2019s current condition,\u201d reads the document obtained by Direkt36, in which the NCPHP provides information on the investigation of the complaint. It also reveals that\u00a0 the NCPHP found Piroska\u2019s son\u2019s complaint substantiated. The healthcare authrity is initiating legal proceedings against the hospital suspecting that the institution violated professional standards, provided inadequate care, and did not properly document the case.<\/p>\n

Join the Direkt36 supporters\u2019 group and get insight into investigative journalism! Details \u2192<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

As we reported, Piroska was admitted to the emergency ward of Szent Imre Hospital in September 2024 because she was experiencing sharp, radiating back pain, shortness of breath, and a fear of dying. The nurses performing the triage \u2014 the assessment of the patient\u2019s medical condition \u2014 did not perform an ECG during the woman\u2019s examination, despite her requests.<\/p>\n

According to the NCPHP\u2019s investigation, this \u201cconstitutes professional negligence,\u201d as the ECG would have quickly detected that Piroska was having a heart attack.<\/p>\n

According to the investigation \u2014 which was based in part on the opinion of an emergency medicine specialist \u2014 the fact that the nurse categorized Piroska’s case as \u201cless urgent\u201d could also be considered professional negligence. This meant that she would have had to wait as long as 6\u20138 hours for a thorough medical examination by a doctor and the results of her blood test. According to the expert’s opinion, the woman\u2019s case should have been categorized \u201curgent,\u201d which would have required her to be seen by a doctor within half an hour.<\/p>\n

The woman, who was struggling with pain, wanted to ask for painkillers, but she was not given any. \u201cYou should have taken that at home,\u201d one of the nurses told her. The authority\u2019s investigation does not address the nurse\u2019s communication or the refusal of medication, but it turns out that the intensity of her pain was not documented on the outpatient form. According to the official document, the severe pain mentioned by the woman would have warranted an urgent classification.<\/p>\n

The woman\u2019s condition worsened while she was waiting, but despite her son and friend repeatedly asking for help, Piroska was not re-examined, and no doctor saw her. The woman could not bear to wait sitting in a chair for 6\u20138 hours before receiving care. She felt her time was being wasted and that she could see a doctor more quickly through private medical services. Therefore, at 9:30 p.m., she left the hospital at her own risk. She passed away at her home a few hours later.<\/p>\n

The investigation concluded that if the ECG had been performed at the hospital and the woman had been treated as an urgent case, \u201cthe patient\u2019s condition would not have deteriorated, or would have done so only under hospital conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Based on its own 2024 investigation, Szent Imre Hospital initially found no professional mistakes. However, in response to the findings of the NCPHP investigation, the hospital told Direkt36 that they accepted the authorities conclusions and they cooperate with the agency. The hospital wrote that the \u201cbackbone of their 2024 report was the statement by the department\u2019s chief physician at the time.\u201d The chief physician has since left the institution on his own initiative. The hospital also noted that \u201cour institution does not consider inadequate communication with patients acceptable in any form.\u201d<\/p>\n

We also wanted to know whether there were any consequences of this event, but citing the ongoing proceedings, they did not answer this question.<\/p>\n

We asked the same from the NCPHP. Their response briefly stated that the authority \u201cwill take the necessary measures,\u201d but they could not provide further information, citing data protection laws.<\/p>\n

In response to a request from Direkt36, Piroska\u2019s son said that he finds the results of the investigation encouraging, but at the same time considers it \u201cextremely saddening\u201d that he had to wait more than a year for the NCPHP\u2019s response. \u201cNothing can bring my mother back, but the NCPHP\u2019s current findings \u2014 that her deteriorating condition could have been prevented with proper care \u2014 offer me a kind of moral satisfaction,\u201d he wrote to Direkt36.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat my family and I have felt all along has been proven: my mother was not given a chance to survive because the hospital failed to follow basic professional protocols. It is painful to read that if they had performed the ECG and taken her symptoms seriously, she might still be with us today,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n

Regarding the hospital\u2019s response, he wrote that he considers it positive that they acknowledge the mistakes, but after the loss of a human life, this alone is not enough for him. \u201cI trust that the legal proceedings will have real consequences, and that no one else will have to endure the undignified treatment my mother had to\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

You can read our article investigating the circumstances of Piroska\u2019s death here.<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Direkt36 reported about an elderly but vigorous woman who was admitted to Szent Imre Hospital with severe pain, but according to her son, she did not receive care appropriate to her condition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":13042,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[89,577,889,890],"ppma_author":[916],"aioseo_notices":[],"fimg_url":["https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/piroska.jpg",2250,1500,false],"authors":[{"term_id":916,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"kamilla-2","display_name":"Kamilla Marton","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Marton-Kamilla.png","url2x":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Marton-Kamilla.png"},"author_category":"1","user_url":"","last_name":"Marton","first_name":"Kamilla","job_title":"","description":"Kamilla a Budapesti Metropolitan Egyetemen diplom\u00e1zott kommunik\u00e1ci\u00f3- \u00e9s m\u00e9diatudom\u00e1ny szakon, majd szakmai p\u00e1lyafut\u00e1s\u00e1t a Direkt36-n\u00e1l kezdte junior \u00fajs\u00e1g\u00edr\u00f3k\u00e9nt. Legink\u00e1bb az eg\u00e9szs\u00e9g\u00fcgyben t\u00f6rt\u00e9n\u0151 vissza\u00e9l\u00e9sek, a k\u00ednai-magyar kapcsolatok \u00e9s a korrupci\u00f3 foglalkoztatj\u00e1k. 2023-ban a k\u00f3rh\u00e1zi fert\u0151z\u00e9sek eltitkolt helyzet\u00e9t felt\u00e1r\u00f3 cikksorozat\u00e1\u00e9rt Wirth Zsuzsann\u00e1val k\u00f6z\u00f6sen elnyerte a Transparency-Soma d\u00edjat, cikksorozatuk pedig beker\u00fclt a European Press Prize d\u00edj legjobb \u00f6t jel\u00f6l\u00e9se k\u00f6z\u00e9. Dokumentumfilmek k\u00e9sz\u00edt\u00e9s\u00e9ben is r\u00e9szt vesz. Szerkeszt\u0151k\u00e9nt \u00e9s riporterk\u00e9nt dolgozott A dinasztia c\u00edm\u0171 dokumentumfilmen, amely elnyerte a Press Play Prague Festival k\u00f6z\u00f6ns\u00e9gd\u00edj\u00e1t, megnyerte a st\u00e1bnak az \u00c9v Gazdas\u00e1gi \u00dajs\u00e1g\u00edr\u00f3ja d\u00edjat \u00e9s k\u00fcl\u00f6nd\u00edjat kapott a 45. Magyar Filmszeml\u00e9n. A film egy \u00e9v alatt t\u00f6bb mint 4 milli\u00f3 megtekint\u00e9st \u00e9rt el. Szerkeszt\u0151k\u00e9nt dolgozott A csapda c\u00edm\u0171 dokumentumfilmen is, amely egy h\u00e9t alatt t\u00f6bb mint egymilli\u00f3 megtekint\u00e9st \u00e9rt el."}],"tag_names":[{"name":"healthcare","slug":"egeszsegugy"},{"name":"NCPHP","slug":"nngyk"},{"name":"Szent Imre K\u00f3rh\u00e1z","slug":"szent-imre-korhaz"},{"name":"sz\u00edvinfarktus","slug":"szivinfarktus"}],"category_names":[{"name":"Direkt36","slug":"direkt36"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13041"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13041"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13041\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13048,"href":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13041\/revisions\/13048"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13041"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=13041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}