Zoom Image
At the Mainz University Hospital, a cleaner helped in the operating room: "This should not have happened" (symbolic image)
Photo: Andreas Arnold / dpa
At the Mainz University Medical Center, a surgical cleaner assisted with a toe operation. "This should not have happened," said CEO Norbert Pfeiffer about the incident, reacting to reports in the VRM newspapers.
During the procedure with local anesthesia in the fall of 2020, the patient's little toe was to be removed, according to Pfeiffer. Because the patient had become restless during the procedure, the surgeon, who wanted to perform the procedure alone, called the non-medically trained young woman of a third-party company for help.
This individual misconduct and failure of the specialist and senior physician regrets the University Medical Center very much, said Pfeiffer. It was a "blackout" and an individual failure. The employment relationship with the physician had been terminated after a labor law procedure.
She held the leg and handed swabs
Specifically, the woman held the patient's leg and also handed a swab. The patient was not harmed, Pfeiffer said. The operation was a routine procedure. These are often carried out by one surgeon alone.
However, the physician could have gotten support from qualified specialists in the situation without any problems. The operation took place around 15:30 p.m., at which time there were still many doctors in the university medical center.
The individual case was very regrettable and should not be repeated, said the Ministry of Science and Health of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is a clear violation of existing regulations.
jpz/dpa