New statement from the TRNC Ministry of Health regarding the death of Volkan Konak: Was delayed intervention the cause?

The TRNC Ministry of Health has issued a statement regarding allegations that there was a delayed intervention for Volkan Konak, who passed away after falling ill while on stage.

Publishing security camera footage of the moment of the incident and the intervention, the ministry stated that Volkan Konak fell ill and collapsed on stage on March 30 at 23:27, noting, "A call was made to the 112 Command and Control Center at 23:29, and immediately after the call, our medical team, accompanied by an internal medicine specialist and an ambulance departing from Yeni İskele, reached the scene at 23:37, which is exactly 8 minutes later.

When evaluated according to international emergency medical intervention standards, the ambulance's arrival time is an ideal duration. Our teams intervened in a timely manner and performed all necessary medical procedures in accordance with treatment protocols," the statement read.

"IT DEPARTED FROM THE NEAREST CENTER"

Pointing out that 15 fully equipped new ambulances capable of providing all kinds of emergency intervention have been put into service within the last year, the statement said, "We have ambulances with the latest equipment capable of intervening in all kinds of emergency cases, especially heart attacks.

Contrary to what has been reported in the press, the ambulance did not depart from a distant point, but from the nearest center, İskele. On the day of the incident, our team consisting of a doctor, a nurse, and a driver reached the case rapidly and performed all necessary medical interventions. Despite all basic life support attempts, no response could be obtained.

In the initial examination performed by the 112 emergency teams that went to the scene, no pulse or respiration was detected, and it was stated that his consciousness was completely closed," it was said.

"THE AMBULANCE WAS FULLY EQUIPPED"

Stating that a thoracic surgeon and an anesthesiologist staying at the hotel performed the first intervention on Konak until the 112 teams reached the scene, the statement continued, "According to the information we received, our artist had no pulse, respiration, or consciousness from the very first moment. Following the initial interventions by our 112 emergency team, the patient was rapidly transferred to Gazimağusa State Hospital, where, despite all the efforts of the emergency service team and specialist doctors in their fields, unfortunately, no positive result could be obtained.

The ambulance that arrived at the scene was not an inadequate ambulance as alleged, but one of the new ambulances purchased within the last year, and it provides fully equipped and fully efficient service.

For this reason, we would like to emphasize once again that the ambulance, along with the internal medicine specialist doctor and nurses, reached the scene on time and that the medical equipment, devices, and medicines were complete. We express our deep sorrow over the passing of our valuable artist Volkan Konak once again and extend our condolences to his family, relatives, and all his loved ones," the statement concluded.

News Source: İHA