More Inconsistencies in Salisbury Case: UK Doctors Admit They DIDN’T Diagnose the Skripals
According to medical workers, "good clinical care" and "input from well-informed experts from the Porton Down lab" should explain Sergei and Yulia Skripal's miraculous healing from exposure to what is described as a "highly dangerous, military-grade nerve agent" – something the world's medicine did not deal with until recently. The details are surprisingly strange. For over 24 hours, the doctors thought they were dealing with a drug overdose. It wasn't until Scotland Yard interfered that the diagnosis was changed. Until then the hospital staff treated the patients without taking any extra precautions.
Alexander Khabarov reports on the strange medical report.
The Salisbury District Hospital, where Sergei and Yulia Skripal were treated, opened its doors to Newsnight journalists. BBC will be broadcasting the full interview tonight. As of now, only certain parts of it have been published. The short video clips don't clearly explain how the doctors managed to heal the patients, who were poisoned with what is described as a "deadly" nerve agent A-234. It's well known that there's no antidote for it.
Dr. Stephen Jukes, an intensive care consultant at the hospital: "We would try all our therapies. We would ensure the best clinical care. But all the evidence was there that they would not survive".
The hospital staff said the day the ex-colonel and his daughter were admitted to the hospital, they suspected the victims were suffering an opioid overdose and tried regular therapy. According to them, it wasn't until 24 hours later that they realized they were dealing with a military-grade nerve agent. Russian experts are skeptical about this. They claim that symptoms typical of opioid overdose and organophosphate poisoning are very different and can be easily identified.
Leonid Rink, PhD in Chemistry: "In case of an opioid overdose, the patient's pupils are dilated and the muscles are relaxed. Whereas in case of organophosphate poisoning we're talking about exposure to a substance that has a cramping, or neuroparalytic, effect. In that situation all the muscles get tense. So muscles are either relaxed or tense. And pupils are either dilated or not. It shouldn't take a medical professional more than one second to identify those symptoms."
According to Dr. Rink, when dealing with the poisonous agent A-234, ventilation through the trachea is pointless. However, that's the reason for the vivid scar on Yulia Skripal's neck. What kinds of medicine were used to treat the victims remains unclear. One of the doctors, however, mentioned some "international experts," who provided the district hospital with helpful advice.
Dr. Duncan Murray, head of the intensive care department: "I believe the improvement was largely attributable to the input from highly qualified international experts, who happen to be on our doorstep at Porton Down".
Porton Down, a secret science park, is located near Salisbury. What those international experts were doing there at the time of the incident is not part of the discussion. However, that was the laboratory where the substance used to poison the former double agent was identified and where the Skripals' pets were quickly eliminated. It's been almost three months since the ex-colonel and his daughter were found at this park in Salisbury's downtown.
However, the investigation hasn't brought any results yet. The Britons, who were initially told about a Russian chemical attack, are now sending angry letters to local newspapers.
A reader’s letter to Salisbury Journal: "Whatever theory people have about the Skripal poisoning, we still don't know what actually happened. Our police chiefs, lead scientists and everyone else do exactly as they are told. They react as they believe to be politically expedient for fear of their jobs".
From day one, when Moscow was accused of the poisoning and Russian diplomats were expelled, Russia has described the situation as a provocation.
Sergey Lavrov, Foreign Minister of Russia: "When someone's trying to play along with the people overseas who are heightening tensions, it's very unfortunate and there's nothing really we can do about it, other than continue to effectively defend our interests, the truth, and the justice".
The British government is currently busy trying to convince everyone that the poisoning did in fact take place. First they showed us Yulia Skripal, now the doctors. It's worth noting that none of the public statements made by those involved in the Salisbury story contained convincing evidence or proof of Russia's notorious involvement.
Alexander Khabarov, Ilya Mordyukov, Vesti, Great Britain.