Henri Joeghmans, 63, died after 17 days in an induced coma following a nosebleed. His son, Patrick, testifies to our colleagues at Sudinfo with emotion about the medical negligence of which his father was the victim, denouncing an avoidable tragedy.
Henri Joeghmans, a resident of Oupeye, lost his life in tragic circumstances that his family judges “unfair and avoidable“. His son, Patrick, looks back with emotion on the events that led to his father’s death, after several visits to the emergency room where his concerns were not taken seriously.
It all started with a simple nosebleed on December 12, tell our colleagues at Sudinfo. Worried, Henri Joeghmans went to the emergency room at CHC Hermalle. Despite the heavy bleeding, the medical staff reassured him and sent him home with cotton balls in his nose. In the following days, Henri’s health deteriorated. He returns to the emergency room several times, sometimes to the CHC Hermalle, sometimes to MontLégia in Liège. Each time, the diagnosis is the same: a simple nosebleed, not serious.
This could have been avoided
“Nothing was taken seriously“, deplores Patrick Joeghmans, Henri’s son, to Sudinfo. It was only during the third visit to the emergency room of CHC Hermalle (and the fourth visit to the emergency room in total), after the family’s insistence, that ‘Henri is finally kept for observation, unfortunately, it is then too late. Henri suffers a cardiac arrest and loses 2.5 liters of blood accumulated in his stomach and lungs. He dies. 17 days later.
“We were told to wait 48 hours to assess the situation“, remembers Patrick, bitterly. “Some doctors told us that all this could have been avoided if it had been taken care of in time“For Henri’s son, it is incomprehensible that the medical reports mention the absence of bleeding during the first visits to the emergency room.”It’s obvious that my dad didn’t stop bleeding before he was finally taken into care. He had 2.5 liters of blood in his stomach!“
Henri’s death leaves a deep feeling of injustice and anger among those close to him. “I would have preferred him to go home with a heart attack rather than see him suffer like this.“, concludes Patrick. “You can give me all the gold in the world, that won’t give me back my dad“.
Contacted by Sudinfo, the CHC did not wish to respond to the family’s accusations, citing medical confidentiality.
emergency hospitalization hospital care
