Charité board to publicly comment on Stern research

stern Investigative

A bleeding, barely responsive patient with a high fever who has to wait hours for a specialist. A nurse who accidentally gives a baby an overdose. A doctor who openly says what many seem to be thinking: “I’m close to collapsing.”

These are just three examples of the abuses that a team of reporters from star and RTL uncovered in Germany’s most famous clinic, the Charité. Three journalists worked with hidden cameras as nursing interns in the clinic and showed an unvarnished insight: organizational deficiencies, overworked doctors and mistakes that endanger people. The research, which was carried out in the past few days in the star and published on RTL, have sparked widespread discussion.

Politicians demanded clarification

Several media outlets have picked up on the report. Politicians from almost all parties have demanded clarification. A spokesman for Berlin’s Health Senate Administration told starthe allegations made are being “carefully examined and must be completely dispelled”. To this end, “we are of course in close contact with the Charité”. The Health Senator of Berlin, Ina Czyborra (SPD), is also the chairwoman of the Charité Supervisory Board.

Next week, the Charité board is to comment on the allegations in the Berlin House of Representatives. Czyborra announced this on Monday in the Health Committee. It is the Charité’s job to investigate the allegations and examine what structural changes might be needed. However, patients can be very sure that they will receive the best possible care at the highest level at the Charité, said Czyborra. “The Charité management is very busy clarifying these allegations,” she said.

Charité spoke of generalized accusations

The Charité itself had confirmed the allegations in advance of the publications at the request of star and RTL. She then responded with two statements on the Internet in which she spoke of generalized accusations against the Charité, “which are unjustified in essential points.” However, she also wrote that the filming of the undercover reporters had been disturbing. The images “call into question compliance with our high quality standards in individual cases.”

The star received numerous calls and letters from doctors, nurses and patients thanking us for the research or reporting similar experiences at the Charité and other hospitals in Germany. Because this is also the truth: many of the problems described affect not only the Charité, but countless hospitals in the country. The Marburger Bund doctors’ union called for a nationwide warning strike yesterday, Monday. According to the union, several thousand doctors took part.

Lauterbach plans biggest hospital reform in 20 years

The German hospital system is in urgent need of reform; Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) has also recognized this.

During the research, Lauterbach had already said in front of the reporter team’s camera that he could not “interfere in the personnel policy of the Charité”. However, the general situation of German hospitals was difficult. Germany did not have enough doctors for the 1,700 existing hospitals: “The quality is not good enough. We cannot carry on like this.”

In fact, the reporting has also drawn attention to the hospital reform planned by Lauterbach. The reform is based on the finding that the quality of treatment in Germany’s hospitals is not good enough overall. And that there are too many hospitals that tie up too much staff that is lacking elsewhere. The reform is set to come into force in early 2025.