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Berlin / Potsdam (dpa) - An intensive care nurse working at Berlin clinics described the situation in the pandemic and criticized politics with haunting and direct words.
«The intensive care units are full. There is no room for interpretation, ”said Ricardo Lange on Thursday in Berlin at a press conference with Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) and the President of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Lothar Wieler. The intensive care nurse, who by his own words comes from Brandenburg and works for a temporary employment agency, criticized the fact that the personnel shortage in the industry had not been addressed years ago.
He described the high physical strain caused by protective equipment, but also the psychological challenges: "In normal times, patients die differently," said Lange.
Relatives could accompany the sick over a longer period of time.
Now only one last visit to the impending death is possible.
The last picture that the dying saw are relatives in complete protective gear, there is no physical contact.
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Nurses then packed the deceased in black plastic bags to protect against infection. “We'll put it in there and zip it up. Believe me when I tell you: It does something to you, "said Lange. You don't do this just a few times, you do it countless times. Better working conditions are more important to him than bonuses. So far, there has been no conclusive concept to prevent overload and to support nursing staff.
He is aware of a certain operational blindness, said the intensive care nurse.
"Of course, I only see the difficult processes, I only see people who, for the most part, die from it."
But the reverse is also true, he emphasized: Those who do not work in an intensive care unit or are affected in their private surroundings only see the slight progression and people who do not become ill.
"That in turn does not mean that the difficult courses do not exist."
Spahn explained how Lange's appearance came about: After a conversation between Spahn and the actor Jan-Josef Liefers about the controversial action #allesdichtmachen, the nurse pointed out that the situation in intensive care units should also play a role.
"Then I said that today would be a good opportunity."
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210429-99-406077 / 2