Aarhus University Hospital spends millions on executive severance packages

Aarhus University Hospital has spent nearly 10 million Danish kroner on severance packages for top executives over the past four years, according to documents obtained by DR.

The latest case involves medical director Michael Braüner-Schmidt, who is retiring but will receive a severance payment of 2.17 million kroner. The hospital confirmed the figure in response to a freedom of information request.

As previously reported by Århus Stiftstidende, the total spent on executive severance deals at the hospital in recent years approaches 10 million kroner. The figure has drawn criticism from Thea Stubbe Teglbjærg, vice chief midwife in the maternity ward.

“It’s incredibly frustrating that the hospital spends so much on severance packages. That amount of money could make a real difference in our daily operations,” she said.

Last autumn, the maternity ward was asked to cut around six million kroner, a demand that was later withdrawn. Stubbe Teglbjærg noted that the ward currently cannot fund requested acupuncture training for midwives, despite patient demand.

In 2023, two hospital directors, Poul Blaabjerg and Claus Thomsen, were dismissed following a cancer treatment scandal in which over 300 patients faced excessive waiting times for surgery. They received severance payments of 4 million and 3.5 million kroner, respectively. The dismissals came after a report by the Chamber Advocate found illegal practices and deliberate errors at the hospital.

In 2024, nursing director Susanne Lauth received approximately 1.5 million kroner upon her departure.

Poul Michaelsen, director of Region Midtjylland, acknowledged in an email to DR that the region agrees funds should be used as close to patients as possible. However, he stated that severance agreements at the executive level are sometimes unavoidable in a large organisation with over 35,000 employees.

He added that severance terms are typically agreed upon at the time of hiring. In Braüner-Schmidt’s case, the hospital stated that leadership restructuring and his planned retirement necessitated the agreement, which included the severance payment.