Mental health emergency in Moscow
A patient was admitted to a hospital in Moscow following a deliberate overdose. Upon notification of the incident, the Healix team managed the situation to ensure the patient was safely looked after prior to transfer to their country of origin.
Challenge
Healix was notified that a French employee of one of our clients had been admitted to a government-run hospital after taking a deliberate overdose of the antidepressant amitriptyline. The patient’s medical condition was stable, but she required a period of monitoring as the amount of the drug she ingested carried a risk of cardiac complications.
The in-country hospital planned to transfer the patient to a government-run psychiatric facility, but the Healix team believed this was cause for concern as there were genuine doubts surrounding this hospital - not just about the quality of care available, but the safety of the facility as well. There was also concern that the facility would not be a suitable place to continue the required cardiac monitoring or effectively manage any cardiac complications that may arise.
Approach
A Healix doctor spoke directly to the treating doctor in Moscow to get the latest details on the patient’s overall medical condition, including the state of her mental health. Based on the information received, our team selected a suitable private hospital in Moscow with a good reputation for quality. This location was able to provide the necessary psychiatric support and had onsite cardiac expertise. Once our team was satisfied with the receiving hospital’s capabilities, we obtained consent from the treating hospital for the patient to be moved to the private clinic and organised transfer via ground ambulance.
Our team remained in close contact with the treating team at the new hospital. Once the danger of cardiac complications had passed, Healix and the treating psychiatrist agreed that the patient was well enough to travel home to France. Healix arranged for an Istanbul-based doctor and nurse to travel to Moscow to accompany the patient to Lyon via Istanbul. We also arranged a psychiatric assessment at a local hospital in Lyon to take place immediately upon arrival.
Outcome
The interventions made by our team ensured the best possible care for the patient while she was in Moscow, safe transfer back to her country of origin and ongoing care once she arrived there.