External review to examine past treatments at Rigshospitalet

DR reports that an external investigation will examine earlier treatments at Rigshospitalet’s Department of Transplantation and Diseases of the Digestive System, after hospital leaders met with politicians from the Capital Region’s executive committee on Monday.

The review will assess whether scientific practices for documenting experimental surgery were breached and what guidelines are needed to prevent this happening again. The department is the only one in Denmark that performs liver transplants.

Capital Region chair Lars Gaardhøj said the review would help determine whether anything had been done improperly, including whether patients had been adequately informed. He said the region wanted to resolve uncertainty and reassure patients.

Health Committee chair Christoffer Buster Reinhardt said politicians had been told that experimental surgery took place without patient consent and without being documented in a protocol. He said the claims needed to be investigated fully.

Bjarne Hjaltalin, head of the Association of Senior Hospital Doctors, said the information about reviewing past treatments was new and had not been raised in connection with the dismissals. He said he hoped the investigation was not an attempt to find additional grounds for dismissing doctors who had already been fired.

Five doctors have left the highly specialised department this year, including three who were dismissed. Two of the dismissed specialists contacted by DR declined to comment and referred the broadcaster to their union.

The Danish Patient Safety Authority told DR it was following the case and waiting for a statement from Rigshospitalet, including information on how patient safety and treatment quality would be maintained if staffing was reduced.