site.btaProsecutors Investigate Briton's Death in Plovdiv Hospital

The Plovdiv Regional Prosecution Office (PRPO) is supervising pretrial proceedings into the causes of the death of a 67-year-old British national who died in the toxicology ward of Plovdiv's St George Hospital on June 19.

The man visited the hospital on the evening of June 18 to seek medical attention, PRPO said. After a check-up, he was sent home. Later, he went back to the hospital, insisting that he should have another check-up. The hospital alerted their security company, and a few security officers turned up at the entrance to the hospital's Emergency Centre.

There, a conflict arose between the Briton and the security guards as they tried to make him leave the hospital but he refused and continued to demand another check-up by a doctor. One of the security guards pushed him to the ground, where he remained until the arrival of a team from Second Precinct Police Department in Plovdiv, who were alerted to the incident. The police found that the Briton was conscious. He was then admitted to the toxicology ward, where he died in the early hours of June 19.

The press office of the St George Hospital told BTA that a commission has been set up to trace the patient's movement through the hospital. "The commission is checking what tests were made, what kind of treatment was assigned, and generally, whether the standard procedure was followed," the press office said. The investigation is expected to last a few days. The findings will be published in a report.

The pretrial proceedings under PRPO's supervision involve questioning of witnesses and collection of evidence. Three medical experts are conducting a forensic examination to establish the causes of the man's death and to see whether there are any traumatic injuries on his body. A chemical expert examination is looking whether there was alcohol in his blood.

After all evidence is collected, the supervising prosecutor will carry out an analysis and will conclude whether anyone should be held criminally liable.