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Clinic scandal in Bielefeld: Chief physician and team charged!
Enormous allegations against clinic staff in Bielefeld: charges of negligent bodily harm after a series of rapes.
Clinic scandal in Bielefeld: Chief physician and team charged!
The senior clinical staff at the Evangelisches Klinikum Bethel in Bielefeld are on trial in a sensational matter. As n-tv reports, charges were brought against the chief physician, a senior physician and the nursing manager. Those responsible are accused of negligent bodily harm through omission in several cases. The public prosecutor's office alleges that the clinic management was informed about abnormalities regarding anesthesia, but did not react adequately.
The situation is getting worse, especially after a junior doctor is said to have drugged and raped a total of 34 patients without medical reasons between September 2018 and April 2020. The assistant doctor was arrested in September 2020 but committed suicide in custody. In addition to indicting those responsible for the clinic, the public prosecutor's office found that although investigations were initiated against the managing director, these were discontinued without evidence of relevant breaches of duty of care.
Confidentiality and omission
The indictment is based, among other things, on information from autumn 2019, when the first reports about the assistant doctor's behavior were brought to the clinic management. The chief physician is said to have been made aware of the incidents in September 2019, after Nicole T. reported unauthorized anesthesia. Nevertheless, necessary measures were not taken. Carina S. reported to the hospital in 2019 because of attacks of dizziness and then also became a victim of the assisting doctor. After the incident, she found a bottle of the anesthetic propofol. daily news
In January 2020, another patient informed the clinic about her experiences with the assistant doctor. Although this led to action by the chief physician, the doctor was not suspended, so the attacks continued unchecked. In April 2020, during a search of the assistant doctor's apartment, the police found drugs and 80 video files documenting the rapes. The frightening thing about this case is that the public prosecutor's office stopped the investigation after the doctor's suicide and did not initially inform the victims. N TV
The context of sexual harassment in the hospital
Sexual harassment and aggressive behavior are a widespread problem in many clinics, also due to the close physical contact and strict hierarchies. A study at the Berlin Charité, which has had a zero-tolerance approach since 2015, shows that over 70 percent of doctors surveyed experienced harassment over the course of their careers. The Charité has introduced numerous preventive measures to avoid boundary violations and to create a safer environment for patients and staff. IWW
These frightening incidents at the Bethel Evangelical Hospital cast a dark shadow over patient safety and the responsibility of medical staff. While the Bielefeld Regional Court is now deciding whether to open the main proceedings, it remains to be hoped that such incidents can be prevented in the future through effective measures and a clear zero-tolerance policy.