Rigshospitalet turmoil unsettles patients as concerns mount

Recent turmoil at Rigshospitalet’s specialist department for transplantation and diseases of the digestive system has unsettled patients and relatives, DR reports. One former patient’s wife says she and her husband are worried by reports of staff departures and dismissals.

Kristina Falkvist’s husband was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer about a year ago and spent five weeks in the department earlier this year. She said the couple had been very satisfied with his care, and that regular conversations with nurses and senior doctors had made her feel reassured.

But the possibility that her husband may need to return if further complications arise has made the recent reports particularly troubling, she said. The couple had relied on being able to return to a department with strong medical expertise, and Falkvist is now concerned about whether the quality of care would be unchanged.

Earlier this year, two surgeons left the department, which is the only one in Denmark that performs liver transplants, according to the article. Several senior doctors later wrote to hospital management expressing concern about whether the department could maintain the required standard. Some of those doctors were subsequently sent home and dismissed.

The issue took a new turn on Monday after hospital management met representatives of the Capital Region of Denmark. According to the meeting minutes, an investigation will examine whether “scientific practice for documenting experimental surgery has been disregarded”. Regional council chair Lars Gaardhøj said the region would investigate the matter with external assistance.

Bjarne Hjaltalin, chair of the Association of Senior Hospital Doctors, said the information was new and had not been raised in connection with the dismissals. Falkvist also said she did not know what the investigation would cover and was waiting to see how it develops.