OSLO, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Djabrail Sulejmanov, a six-year-old cancer patient who had been wrongly treated by a hospital in western Norway and been in an induced coma since Aug. 22, passed away on Thursday, public broadcaster NRK reported.
On Aug. 22, a doctor at Haukeland hospital in Bergen put a syringe with the drug vincristine instead of methotrexate into the boy's head and the consequence was a significant brain damage.
After Djabrail ended up in coma, the hospital concluded that the injuries were "incompatible with further life."
It was Sulejmanov's parents who had asked the boy to be moved from Bergen to Oslo in order to get the doctors' second opinion about whether the boy could survive the maltreatment.
On Thursday, medical staff at the Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet, where the boy has been lying for the last ten days, disconnected the respirator that had kept him alive after reaching the same decision as the Haukeland hospital: the boy's life could not be saved.
"Oslo University Hospital confirms that Djabrail Sulejmanov, 6, unfortunately died in our Pediatric Intensive Care Unit this afternoon," press officer Anders Bayer told NRK.
According to Haukeland hospital's report, the responsible doctor "was on duty and made the mistake by the end of an ordinary working day."
"We are very sorry that this little boy died after malpractice at our hospital. Our thoughts go to the relatives. The parents have gone through a very challenging period. It was, to begin with, a challenging disease, but it became even more challenging for them," said Eivind Hansen, CFO of the Bergen Hospital Trust.
According to NRK, the Norwegian Board of Health Supervision is investigating the incident.
The board's conclusion will decide whether health personnel will be punished after Djabrail's death.
"We have established dialogue with the Norwegian Board of Health Supervision, which has the professional competence in this area, and await their advice as to whether there is a basis for prosecution," said lawyer Inger-Lise Hoyland from the West Police District.
According to the NRK report, both the health personnel and the hospital could be punished. For employees, the sentence may be up to three months in prison under the Health Care Act.
Hoyland, however, did not rule out negligent killing, which is punished with up to six years in prison.
