Nurse says psychiatrist downplayed Maradona's crisis during home hospitalisation

Diego Maradona suffered a sudden change in mood that was downplayed by his psychiatrist during the period of home hospitalisation in which he died, a nurse who cared for the football legend told the court on Tuesday during the trial over his death.

Maradona died at his home on November 25, 2020, aged 60, from acute pulmonary oedema followed by cardiorespiratory arrest, after undergoing neurosurgery.

The trial into his death, taking place in San Isidro, north of Buenos Aires, is examining whether he received appropriate medical care and whether the seven members of his medical team may bear any responsibility for his death.

Nurse Cinthia Córdoba, who treated Maradona but is not among the defendants, told the court: "From one moment to the next, he became extremely agitated, completely out of the blue. He didn't recognise anyone and kept saying he was being persecuted.

"I explained that I was the nurse, but he asked me to change my clothes and leave because he believed it was all part of the persecution."

Faced with the situation, Córdoba telephoned Maradona's psychiatrist, Agustina Cosachov, who is one of the defendants in the case.

According to the nurse, however, the psychiatrist dismissed the incident.

"She said to me, 'Is that what you're calling me about?'" the witness recalled.

Córdoba then sought help from others inside the house in Tigre, north of Buenos Aires, where Maradona was receiving home care.

"I knocked on the doors where Jony [Maradona'snephew] and Monona [the cook] were, but neither of them answered," she said.

She eventually reported the situation to the nursing co-ordinator, Mariano Perroni.

Córdoba also testified that, following the incident on November 14, the nursing staff were instructed not to contact the treating doctors directly, under threat of dismissal. Instead they were to communicate only through the person co-ordinating Maradona's home care.

The witness, who worked at the house for seven of the 14 days that Maradona remained under home hospitalisation, also recalled that two days before his death he did not want to eat or get out of bed.

She said she reported this to the doctors but could not recall receiving any response.

Alongside Cosachov, six other healthcare professionals – including doctors, nurses and a psychologist – are facing charges of homicide with "dolo eventual," a legal concept under Argentine law alleging that they foresaw the possibility that their actions or omissions could result in the former footballer's death but proceeded regardless.

All have pleaded not guilty.

The trial is expected to continue until at least August.

– TIMES/AFP

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