Investigations into child deaths advance with new testimonies The Civil Police of Maranhão heard, this Monday (20), new testimonies from mothers and fathers of children who died after receiving care at the Hospital da Criança Dr. Odorico Amaral de Matos, in São Luís. ? Click here and subscribe to the g1 Maranhão channel on WhatsApp The reports are part of five investigations that investigate the circumstances of the deaths and reports of irregularities in the Health Units. Hospital pediatric intensive care units (ICUs). The police seek to identify whether there was criminal responsibility. Among the cases presented to the police is that of Nicholas, 7 years old. According to his mother, Núbia Carneiro, the boy was admitted to the Children's Hospital on June 7 of this year and died after a series of alleged failures in care. Núbia states that there were failures in care and a lack of preparation on the part of the professionals who attended to her son. According to her, the doctors said that the child would die even before the tests were completed. "The doctors looked at me and said: 'Mom, he's going to die.' On Monday night (20), police chief Joviano Furtado informed that the Civil Police opened a new investigation to investigate the death of Nicholas Jan Zeeuw, aged 7. As a result, the number of investigations related to the deaths of children who passed through the Hospital da Criança, in São Luís, rose to five. Reproduction/ TV Mirante The child's father, Arthur Zeeuw, is Dutch and was in his country of origin when Nicholas was admitted. According to him, the family followed the service remotely. Arthur claims that Núbia was prevented from making a video call so that he could see and say goodbye to his son in the last moments of his life. The Civil Police opened five investigations related to the Children's Hospital. One of them investigates the supposed increase in the number of deaths in the unit's pediatric ICUs. On Monday night (20), police chief Joviano Furtado informed that the Civil Police opened this fifth investigation to investigate the death of Nicholas Jan Zeeuw, aged 7. The other three separately investigate the deaths of 1-year-old Otto; Kerliane, 7 years old; Bernardo, 4 months old. Otto's parents were the first to give a statement this Monday (20). They told the police officer what had happened during the 17 days their son remained hospitalized. Otto was admitted to hospital in January this year with an intestinal infection. According to his family, he died after developing septic shock, a serious reaction of the body to an infection. Kerliane's mother, Jainara Souza dos Santos, was also interviewed by the police. The girl died on April 29, after four days in hospital. According to her mother, Kerliane went to the hospital with pain in one of her legs after suffering a fall. The child was released, but returned to the unit two days later. The death certificate lists respiratory arrest associated with a generalized infection as the cause of death. The mother accuses the hospital of negligence and demands answers about the care provided to her daughter. Chief Joviano Furtado informed that the Civil Police has already received the medical records of Otto, Kerliane and Bernardo. Documents must undergo technical analysis during investigations. Last week, two doctors and the general director of Hospital da Criança also gave testimony. They were heard in the investigation investigating Bernardo's death. The baby died about 30 hours after his twin brother, Bento. The police are investigating the procedures adopted when caring for the two children. Defender's Office points out irregularities Defender's Office report exposes flaws in children's hospital A technical note from the Public Defender's Office of the State of Maranhão pointed out irregularities found during an inspection of the three pediatric ICUs at Hospital da Criança. According to the Ombudsman's Office, a shortage of professionals, an absence of day doctors and technical coordinators, the work of professionals without the required specialization and an insufficient number of specialized physiotherapists were identified. The institution also recorded reports of recurring shortages of medicines, delays in freeing up beds and failures to transfer children who needed ICU care. Family members and professionals also reported delays in care and the replacement of medications with others considered less effective due to the lack of certain products. During the inspection, the Defender's Office found that each ICU had only one doctor on duty to serve up to ten highly complex beds. The final inspection report is still being prepared. The inspection was carried out on Wednesday (15) by public defenders Davi Rafael Silva Veras, from the Child and Adolescent Defense Center, and Vinicius Goulart Reis, from the Health Defense Center. According to the Public Defender's Office, in all ICUs there was only one doctor on duty per sector to serve up to 10 highly complex beds. The absence of day-to-day doctors, technical managers and coordinators during the afternoon was also noted. The Defender's Office also points out that some of the professionals who worked in the ICUs did not have the specialization required by resolutions RDC nº 7/2010 and RDC nº 137/2017 of the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa). In one of the cases, a doctor on duty confirmed that she did not have specialized training in pediatric intensive care. During the inspection, the Public Defender's Office also identified reports of lack of medicines and supplies. According to the agency, the information