Investigation against hospital: allegations rejected
Following a media report on investigations by the public prosecutor's office into suspected negligent homicide at an Oldenburg hospital, the hospital management has rejected the accusations. "We are completely behind our team and nothing, absolutely nothing, has gone wrong here in terms of patient care," said Alexander Poppinga, Medical Director of the Evangelical Hospital Oldenburg, on Friday. The "Bild" newspaper first reported on the investigation.
The Oldenburg public prosecutor's office confirmed on Friday that investigations were underway on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter. According to the report, two anonymous criminal complaints started the proceedings. The investigators seized patient files. A forensic institute is now to examine whether there may have been treatment errors that led to the death. According to the spokesperson for the prosecution, two cases are involved.
"Two cases are being mixed up here that have absolutely nothing to do with each other," said the hospital's head of management, Kristina Minder. From the hospital's point of view, there was no malpractice whatsoever. "That's why we are absolutely relaxed about the investigation." Poppinga emphasized that the hospital has an extremely high number of emergencies. "The most seriously ill patients come to us." Deaths are a matter of course in neurosurgery.
According to the "Bild" report, the operation on a seriously ill man was postponed for capacity reasons and the procedure ultimately ended fatally. The hospital management rejected the accusation of malpractice and stated that there had been no danger to the patient. According to the newspaper, another patient's skull fell to the floor during an operation. The hospital management confirmed the incident. "This should not happen, but the patient was not harmed in any way," said Poppinga. There was no criminal relevance.
Deaths are regularly reviewed by forensic doctors, and the hospital voluntarily has a so-called double post-mortem examination, it said. The hospital management assumes that the anonymous criminal complaints originate from a former employee of the hospital.
Despite the ongoing investigation by the Oldenburg public prosecutor's office into alleged negligent incidents at the hospital, the hospital management remains confident in their team and the quality of patient care. The Evangelical Hospital Oldenburg vehemently denies any wrongdoing in relation to health issues, maintaining that they handle a high volume of emergency cases and fatalities are often an expected part of neurosurgery.
Source: www.dpa.com
