Charité: Doctors criticise the quality of care at the clinic

stern Investigative

Around 200 doctors at Berlin’s Charité are apparently concerned about the safety of patients in Germany’s most famous hospital. In a previously unpublished survey, they gave a devastating verdict on the quality of care in their own hospital, with more than 80 percent of the more than 200 respondents giving the hospital grades four, five or six. The results are star and RTL exclusively.

A team of reporters has uncovered grievances at the clinic after months of research. They also have two surveys at their disposal that reveal a blatant contradiction between expectations and the reality experienced.

More than 200 doctors from several locations and clinics, from beginners to senior physicians, took part in the internal survey among Charité doctors on the quality of care. When asked “How do you rate the quality of patient care under the current working conditions?” 44 percent answered “poor” and eight percent answered “unsatisfactory”. 29 percent answered “adequate”. Only one, however, answered “very good”.

A good two thirds would not recommend the Charité as a teaching hospital

In a second survey, the Marburger Bund doctors’ union asked more than 200 prospective doctors – students in their practical year – about their experiences in Berlin hospitals. About half worked on a ward at the Charité. A good two-thirds of them said they would not recommend the Charité as a teaching hospital to other students. Among those who had been to other Berlin hospitals, the ratio was exactly the opposite; a good two-thirds of the students recommended their hospital. And overall, only ten percent felt “well prepared” for everyday working life as a result of the practical year.

The results are “shocking” and “cannot be glossed over,” said Peter Bobbert, chairman of the board of the Marburger Bund regional association in Berlin/Brandenburg.

A lawyer from Charité responded to a request from star and RTL that the Charité was not aware of the two surveys and that their results were “not representative” anyway. The lawyer also referred to rankings according to which the Charité is regularly voted one of the best hospitals internationally.

The Charité – like other large hospitals – is expected to be one of the financial beneficiaries of the hospital reform that Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) is currently preparing. According to its own information, it employs around 5,700 doctors and researchers.