Schleiz: 66-year-old is turned away from the intensive care unit and dies

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Because all intensive care beds in the district hospital in Schleiz, Thuringia, were apparently occupied, a 66-year-old man died over the Easter holidays.

This is what the “Thüringer Allgemeine” and the online portal “Thüringen 24” report.

Accordingly, the 66-year-old suffered from stomach cancer.

According to his sister, her brother's condition had deteriorated so much over Easter that he was picked up by an ambulance and transferred to the district clinic.

According to the sister of the deceased, however, at the time of the admission there was no longer any free intensive care bed, which is why the patient was not admitted.

According to the sister, the clinic staff then requested a rescue helicopter to fly the patient to another clinic, but the 66-year-old did not make it until then.

Schleiz is a rural region in the Saale-Orla district in Thuringia.

The district has had one of the highest 7-day incidences per 100,000 inhabitants for weeks.

According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the district is currently the nationwide leader with a value of around 558.

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It is still unclear whether the intensive care unit in the district hospital could no longer admit a patient due to the corona pandemic.

The Rescue Service Association of East Thuringia said "Thüringen24" that intensive care beds are full, is not an isolated case.

Reasons for this could also be a lack of staff.

According to information from the MDR, the hospital has been in need of financial rehabilitation for a long time. In February of last year, the maternity ward was closed due to a lack of doctors. In November of last year, the "Ostthüringer Zeitung" reported that the number of nursing staff had fallen dramatically as a result of the stress on staff from the Corona crisis. Rescue workers had also criticized the inadequate staffing of the emergency room and surgery, reported the MDR.

According to a press release from the hospital in mid-April, the district hospital's supervisory board approved a binding offer from SternbachKliniken GmbH to take over Schleiz district hospital. Now this decision has to be confirmed by the political bodies. The offer provides for the long-term operation of 92 beds, including 6 beds in the intensive care unit, as well as continuous readiness for admission in the emergency room.