Trial time for the emergency medical service operator

Her mocking tone had caused scandal: the emergency medical service operator who mocked Naomi Musenga on the phone at the end of 2017, a young woman who died shortly afterwards in hospital, appeared in court this Thursday in Strasbourg, “a relief” for the victim’s family who want “justice”, as the Latest News from Alsace.

This 60-year-old woman, permanently suspended from the Samu and currently unemployed, is being tried in the correctional court for “failure to assist a person in danger”: she is accused of “not having respected the protocols” for care “and good practices” of the Samu, according to the prosecution. She faces five years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros.

The family wants to understand

More than six years after the events, the holding of this trial “is a great relief”, declared Naomi’s mother, Honorine Musenga, during a press conference held Wednesday evening in Strasbourg with two of her children and their lawyer, Jean-Christophe Coubris, and relayed by Alsace.

The family wants “justice,” added Louange, Naomi’s sister. “To understand” also “what happened in this person’s head,” “to know if there is a minimum of regret” on the part of the operator who has, “until now,” not apologized.

Gloire, her brother, asked for “forgiveness” from the operator “for what she did.”

Died because she was taken care of 2 hours and 20 minutes late

Mother of an 18-month-old child, Naomi Musenga died on December 29, 2017 at the Strasbourg hospital after being taken in with “an overall delay of nearly 2 hours 20 minutes,” according to a report from the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (IGAS).

Complaining of severe stomach pain, she contacted the firefighters who transferred the call to the emergency services. The exchange between the two operators was already “in a mocking tone”, Igas noted.

“I have a terrible stomach ache,” “I’m going to die…” Naomi then whispered, struggling to express herself. “Yes, you’re going to die, certainly one day like everyone else,” the regulator retorted, using “a harsh, intimidating and inappropriate tone in the face of repeated requests for help,” according to Igas. Before hanging up.

Naomi was eventually referred to SOS Médecins and hospitalized, but far too late.

A shocking audio track

The exchange leaked onto social media and in the media a few months later, sparking an outcry. “Without this audio tape being broadcast so many times, I’m not sure we would have had a court date,” said Mr.^e Coubris.

At the end of the conversation, the operator did not pass the call on to a regulating doctor, contrary to what the procedure required in the event of abdominal pain, and did not ask “any questions” to provide information on “the patient’s clinical condition”, the Igas pointed out.

The defendant’s lawyer, Olivier Grimaldi, had indicated in May that he was contesting these proceedings, regretting that his client’s employer or superiors had not been prosecuted.

A postponement of the trial?

On Thursday, he is expected to ask that the case “be sent back to the investigation”, judging that the referral of his client to court was insufficiently justified, said Mr.^e Coubris. Requested, M^e Grimaldi did not respond.

“The judge cannot do that, he cannot postpone” the trial, reacted Honorine Musenga. “Just to get there, it was a lot of pain…” The investigation was punctuated by expert opinions and counter-expert opinions.

After Naomi’s death, a first report, denounced by her family, had concluded that her death was the result of “paracetamol poisoning taken through self-medication over several days”. But another expert report had suggested a digestive stroke that had caused a hemorrhage.

A diploma created after the tragedy

The investigation had also been opened for “involuntary manslaughter”. But the expert reports did not find any “causal link” between the delay in treating the young woman and her death. Naomi was already “beyond all therapeutic resources at the time of the first call to the emergency services”, according to the investigation.

M^e Coubris will seek civil accountability from the Strasbourg hospital before the administrative court, he said.

In July 2019, 18 months after the death of Naomi Musenga, the medical regulation assistant (ARM) diploma was created, now mandatory for working in emergency medical aid call regulation centers.