Baby girl died of massive overdose
The baby which died in an alleged mercy killing at Astrid Lindgren's Children's Hospital in Stockholm was given a massive overdose of pain killers, a new report by the National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen) has concluded.
Suspicions against the paediatrician who is currently under investigation on suspicion of manslaughter have thus been strengthened.
According to medical journal Dagens Medicin, the welfare board has established that the baby, who had sustained serious brain damage in a prior hospital visit, was administered the anaesthetic Pentothal before she died on September 20th 2008.
The board's scientific advisory committee are in agreement that the newborn baby girl was given a very high dose of Pentothal, which is a barbiturate general anaesthetic.
The committee at the same time rejects criticism directed at the Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine (Rättsmedecinalverket - RMV) and find it unlikely that any fault lies there.
The welfare board is expected to issue a final report on the incident in the middle of September.
The doctor was remanded into custody on March 6th after having been arrested at her place of work on suspicion of manslaughter.
The doctor was released from custody after a successful appeal from her lawyer, Björn Hurtig, and denies any wrongdoing.
The chief prosecutor Peter Claeson told the news agency TT recently that a decision on whether to press charges in the case will be made at the end of August at the earliest.
Manslaughter carries a penalty of between six and ten years in prison in Sweden.
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Suspicions against the paediatrician who is currently under investigation on suspicion of manslaughter have thus been strengthened.
According to medical journal Dagens Medicin, the welfare board has established that the baby, who had sustained serious brain damage in a prior hospital visit, was administered the anaesthetic Pentothal before she died on September 20th 2008.
The board's scientific advisory committee are in agreement that the newborn baby girl was given a very high dose of Pentothal, which is a barbiturate general anaesthetic.
The committee at the same time rejects criticism directed at the Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine (Rättsmedecinalverket - RMV) and find it unlikely that any fault lies there.
The welfare board is expected to issue a final report on the incident in the middle of September.
The doctor was remanded into custody on March 6th after having been arrested at her place of work on suspicion of manslaughter.
The doctor was released from custody after a successful appeal from her lawyer, Björn Hurtig, and denies any wrongdoing.
The chief prosecutor Peter Claeson told the news agency TT recently that a decision on whether to press charges in the case will be made at the end of August at the earliest.
Manslaughter carries a penalty of between six and ten years in prison in Sweden.
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