Doctor suggests ‘solving’ disabled son
The mother of a 21-year-old with multiple disabilities raises allegations against the Paracelsus Clinic in Bad Ems. A doctor suggests “redeeming” her son.
Nassau/Frankfurt – Just a few hours after Ellen H. arrived in northern Italy with her husband and two daughters, the clinic called. They had planned five days of vacation without any stress or obligations. At home, the 50-year-old commutes between her place of residence Frankfurt and Nassau in Rhineland-Palatinate, where her eldest son, Paul, who has multiple disabilities, lives in a nursing home.
A doctor from the Paracelsus Clinic in Bad Ems, which is responsible for Nassau, is on the phone. “The conversation started with the doctor asking me if my son should be ‘saved.’ He has pneumonia, if the condition worsens, he can intubate him or treat him palliatively,” says H., and her voice trembles with anger. “I was shocked. Of course getting intubated and getting out isn’t a pony yard, but I’m sure another 21-year-old with pneumonia wouldn’t have been asked to ‘release’ them.”
Outraged, she refuses palliative care and, despite phone calls to the clinic, tries to concentrate on her vacation every day. But an unhealthy feeling remains. Two days later, the family breaks off the trip and returns to Frankfurt. “The children were very disappointed.”
Frankfurt family criticizes Paracelsus Clinic Bad Ems: insensitive communication
Ellen H. complains to the Paracelsus Group about the inappropriate statement made by the admitting doctor, and the senior physician in the emergency room apologizes to her. This was also confirmed by the clinic: “Any communication errors in dealing with Paul F. were immediately and directly apologized,” writes Group spokeswoman Dirten von Schmeling on request.
However, the two die less than agree on what happened next. Ellen H. experienced the treatment of her son, who cannot express himself, as a series of mistakes. With reference to the house rules, she was forbidden to photograph devices that she believed to be defective, but she was not given the house rules even after several inquiries. She wasn’t allowed to see Paul’s medical record either. That’s why she keeps writing e-mails to the head of the nursing service and the senior doctor, asking questions personally and discussing them. “They think I’m a hysterical mom. But when I communicate that something went wrong, I just want it taken care of.”
The clinic does not respond to these allegations and instead assures “that during Paul F.’s stay in the clinic in the mentioned period, all treating doctors and nurses as well as the clinic management were extremely committed and competent”. In “many personal conversations and telephone calls”, according to von Schmeling, the responsible senior physician in particular explained the treatment to the mother “in detail” and answered questions “far beyond the normal level”. “It could actually occur that Ms. H. was not always satisfied with the answers, but we & here that we absolutely trust the knowledge of our specialists regarding the treatments suggested by Ms. H.”
Of course, she wasn’t satisfied with the answers, says Ellen H. “During a conversation, a doctor can tell me what he wants – but I don’t know if it’s correct without looking at the files.” The treating doctor told her about the antibiotic dosage explained something completely different than what was later stated in the letter of dismissal. “Such conversations are just smoke and mirrors.”
Frankfurt family criticizes Paracelsus Clinic Bad Ems: Open wound after treatment error
Gradually, Paul recovers from his pneumonia. After three weeks, his mother says he is well enough to be transferred to a hospital she trusts more. They organized a place for their son – but the Paracelsus Clinic refused because he was not yet transportable. “On the same day, however, Paul was in the nursing chair,” reports Ellen H. “The clinic receives a very high fee for Paul and has little work with him because he cannot communicate. Maybe he wasn’t transferred to the other clinic?”
Here, too, Schmeling’s spokeswoman disagrees. “The use of the nursing chair was by no means a confirmation of transportability, but served as a protective storage to prevent swallowing, among other things,” she writes. It was too early to transfer as Paul had just been weaned off the ventilator and it would not have been good for him to have to be sedated for transport. In addition, among other things, such a weaning in the case of a severely disabled person is by no means a small effort, but on the contrary “a great challenge”.
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Clinic speaks of “failure to treat the patient” – mother from Frankfurt criticizes the health system
When Paul WAS eliminated two days later, he had survived the pneumonia but had a severe decubitus on his back, an open sore that develops when you lie on the same spot for too long. This is based on a “failure in the treatment of the patient”, writes von Schmeling, “which we deeply regret and for which we apologize”.
Even after her son’s dismissal, H. is still so angry that she turns to the newspaper. “I have the feeling that disabled people have less and less lobby in our health care system. There is a lack of understanding that such people also like to live. Paul is always cheerful, he likes to sing and cuddle and join in any nonsense. He doesn’t need to be redeemed. I want to create awareness for that,” she says. She takes her son to the Kemperhof Hospital in Koblenz for follow-up treatment. “The file was there by the bed, I could ask anything and always got answers. That was really great.”
In the meantime, the Paracelsus Clinic in Bad Ems has officially announced that it WILL close inpatient care including the emergency room on March 31st. The reason is a “blatant shortage of skilled workers”, so that proper operation “for quite some time” has only been possible “with the greatest burden on the entire workforce”. (Sara Bernhard)