- Investigation against doctor - palliative care services horrified
After the arrest of a palliative care doctor in Berlin on suspicion of manslaughter**, palliative care services express shock. Staff at the palliative care services in the Neukölln district, where the suspect had accommodated patients over the years, are stunned, a spokesperson said. There had been no signs or indications of anything suspicious, the spokesperson said.
The suspect doctor was not an employee of the palliative care services, the spokesperson said. Palliative care is usually provided at home. If care needs to be more intensive, the doctor admits their patients to a hospice for appropriate care. The on-site staff then take care of the care.
The 39-year-old palliative care doctor is being investigated for manslaughter and arson. He has been in custody since Tuesday. According to the public prosecutor's office, the doctor has been working in the palliative care team of a nursing service since the beginning of the year. In the course of this activity, he is said to have killed women aged 72 and 94 in their apartments between June 11 and July 24 in a manner still to be determined. He then allegedly set fire to the scene to cover up the crimes. The severely ill patients were not in an acute phase of dying at the time of the crime, according to the public prosecutor's office. The motive of the man is still unclear.
"It's about making life possible until the very end, not ending it," the spokesperson for the palliative care services said. He spoke of a terrible isolated case. In palliative care, one is affected and shocked because one could not have expected this. The mutual trust necessary for the demanding work must not be damaged.
The 39-year-old doctor, currently in custody for manslaughter and arson, had been working in a palliative care team since the beginning of the year. Despite being arrested, the suspected crimes have left the palliative care services in disbelief and concern about the potential impact on their trust with patients.
