The Public Prosecution Service (OM) has decided not to appeal the court’s decision to keep the mental health file of Theodoor V. confidential, RTV Drenthe reports today.
The OM says there are insufficient grounds to continue the legal process without the full access to V.’s medical file. The controversial case revolves around the former nurse, Theodoor V., from Veenhuizen, who allegedly claimed to have prematurely ended the lives of around twenty COVID patients without their consent and without the instructions from a doctor.
Exceptional circumstances
The OM had requested the mental health institution GGZ to release the full file of V., but the GGZ refused to do so citing the protection of professional confidentiality. The court ruled on July 20 that the interrogations of three GGZ employees by the police had provided enough information and that it was not necessary to hand over the file to the OM. The prosecutors argued that there were ‘very exceptional circumstances’ and that the interest of truth-finding outweighed the interest of confidentiality.
In a surprising twist, the court ruled in favor of the GGZ, denying the OM access to the medical dossier. As a result, the OM has now decided against challenging the ruling in cassation before the Supreme Court, as it finds insufficient grounds to do so.
The Public Prosecution Service has assured the families of the affected patients that the pursuit of truth will continue. “This does not mean that the investigation stops,” the OM wrote in a letter to relatives.
Professional secrecy
The case of Theodoor V. has been the subject of much media attention for months, bringing up crucial issues regarding the responsibilities of medical privacy and the significance of uncovering the truth in rare circumstances. V. was arrested on April 17, following the disclosure of information by GGZ Drenthe to the Board of Directors of Wilhelmina Ziekenhuis Assen (WZA).
V., 31, who was hired by the WZA as a pulmonary nurse a few months before the coronavirus pandemic began, was accused of prematurely ending the lives of patients in his care, but has always denied the allegations. At the beginning of June, a court ordered his release, citing insufficient evidence, which only added to the intrigue surrounding the charges brought against him.
