On Wednesday morning, the National Police arrested the anesthesiologist who anesthetized the six-year-old girl who died in Alzira (Valencia), and searched her home. A few hours later, at noon, officers arrested the dentist and owner of the dental center. The deceased minor and another four-year-old child, who needed hospital treatment, were treated in a dental clinic in the municipality, which has been closed since November 21, the date of the girl’s death. This event will be under full investigation by the court and the Ministry of Health.
The 43-year-old anesthesiologist, who was arrested on Wednesday around 9 a.m. in the city of Valencia, was doing intermittent work at the clinic and was not part of its staff, according to the institute’s website. The specialist is accused of murder, injury, crimes against public health, and failure to provide assistance, in addition to the crime of theft because he took medicine from a hospital to be used, most likely, in other centers, according to informed sources. The clinic’s owner, Mireya V., 50, is allegedly charged with dereliction of duty to assist and against public health.
The anesthetist has already been questioned, first by the Ministry of Health and then by the National Police homicide team. The Ministry of Health conducted investigations to ensure that the preparation used to anesthetize minors could be traced, and prepared a report and sent it to Guidance Court No. 5 in Al-Zira.
The six-year-old girl died in Alzira after being treated at the Mireia Dental Clinic, and another four-year-old girl, treated at the same centre, had to be admitted to the Valencia Clinical Hospital in the intensive care unit hours later. He is now out of danger. The Ministry of Health immediately suspended the activity of the private center and opened an investigation to determine the circumstances of the two incidents.
The dental clinic lacks a health license to administer intravenous anesthesia, which was confirmed by the aforementioned department two days after the death. The center is registered as a dental clinic operating in the field of dentistry and dentistry, which allows it to use only local anesthesia without the need for additional permits.
The minors showed similar symptoms after visiting the dental clinic: drowsiness, vomiting, and breathing problems. The dentist and clinic owner confirmed in the first moments that the deceased girl left the center apparently fine, as the anesthetist who treated her provided her with a catheter to rest her, extracted some baby teeth, and gave her some fillings. He also noted that the batch of product used is being “screened” to see if it is in poor condition or contaminated, but he does not know what could have happened.
However, the family of the deceased girl indicated in their version of events that she spent four hours under observation in the aforementioned clinic because she had not recovered from the anesthesia. Finally, she was discharged. Once she returned home, she appeared to be recovering until her condition seriously worsened and she was transported in cardiac and respiratory arrest to La Ribera Hospital, where she died shortly after admission.
Five days after the event, the National Police searched the dental clinic for approximately seven hours as part of investigative procedures opened by the Court of Alzira. The Ministry of Health also confirmed that the clinic did not have a health license to practice anesthesia techniques, which include anesthesia with intravenous medications.
Agents of the National Police Corps were searching for the substances they had given to anesthetize patients and documents related to the traceability of medications, although samples from the batch of these products were already being analysed, the dentist and clinic owner said at the time.
The minor’s autopsy did not reveal any direct cause that would explain the patient’s death, so the court was awaiting the results of the girl’s blood, urine, and tissue tests in search of more data that would shed light on the causes of the event.