HUS initially denied permission for Olivia Oras ambulance transfer

HUS initially did not give an ambulance permission to transfer Olivia Oras to hospital after she lost consciousness during a procedure at a Helsinki beauty clinic, Yle’s MOT investigation reports. At least one complaint has been filed with the Licensing and Supervisory Agency over the delay.

Oras, 27, died on September 3 after an anaesthetic administered before liposuction at Plastic Surgery Center. She was taken by ambulance to a HUS hospital, where she later died.

According to MOT’s sources, the clinic called the emergency number 112, but the transfer was delayed because the ambulance that arrived did not initially receive permission from HUS to take the patient. The disagreement concerned whether the transfer was HUS’s responsibility.

A complaint has been filed with the Licensing and Supervisory Agency, the authority overseeing the health sector, according to an MOT source. MOT has seen the complaint, which asks whether the delay put patient safety at risk. The agency had not confirmed receiving it by Wednesday.

Plastic Surgery Center chief executive Karl Johan Svedjeholm did not respond to MOT’s request for comment. MOT said it had received the information from two other independent sources.

HUS says private hospitals are responsible for emergencies

HUS did not comment on this specific case. In a general response, it said private hospitals are responsible for treating emergencies at their facilities and must arrange further treatment when needed, using private patient transport companies or HUS patient transport.

Markku Kuisma, HUS’s director responsible for the service line, said that HUS patient transport can be ordered through a round-the-clock dispatch centre. He said the service is also prepared for urgent transfers.

Asked whether there had been cases in which an ambulance was called to a private hospital but HUS decided not to send one, Kuisma said HUS does not comment on individual situations. He added that patient transport and emergency medical services are different: HUS patient transport handles transfers for HUS, the City of Helsinki and the region’s wellbeing services counties, while emergency medical services are responsible for pre-hospital care in the HUS area.

Kuisma said any uncertainty generally concerns the practices of newer private hospitals rather than established operators.

Police investigate suspected aggravated death by negligence

Oras’s death is being investigated by police as suspected aggravated death by negligence. Police have not said who is suspected in the case.

MOT has reported that Oras lost consciousness during the anaesthetic administered before the liposuction. MOT does not know whether a treatment error occurred.

Oras’s parents have previously said they hold the clinic that treated their daughter responsible for her death. They have not confirmed the name of the clinic or the doctor who treated Oras. They have, however, told MOT that they believe HUS did everything it could to save their daughter’s life.

A police car was parked for several hours near Plastic Surgery Center’s premises on Aleksanterinkatu on Wednesday.

Plastic Surgery Center is one of Finland’s largest plastic surgery clinics and has locations around the country, including two in Helsinki.