Chaotic conditions at the special department at Rigshospitalet make patients and relatives nervous: 'It has been really unpleasant to follow along with'

The recent days' unrest surrounding the highly specialized department for transplantation and diseases of the digestive system at Rigshospitalet is creating anxiety among patients and their relatives.

"It has actually been very uncomfortable to follow the course of events. It has certainly made my husband and me feel uneasy," says Kristina Falkvist.

Her husband was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer about a year ago and was admitted to the mentioned department for five weeks earlier this year. Her husband does not wish to comment himself.

Kristina Falkvist emphasizes that the couple was extremely satisfied with the treatment and the course of events during her husband's hospitalization.

"As a relative, I felt incredibly safe with the dialogue I had with the nurses and the senior consultants the whole time, where we were constantly informed about the next step."

Kristina Falkvist shows a picture of her husband's stomach after undergoing surgery for pancreatic cancer at the much-discussed specialist clinic at Rigshospitalet. (Photo: © Mathias Vejen)

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Uncertain about having to return

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The news that Kristina Falkvist's husband had pancreatic cancer hit the family like a shock.

After the intense course with a long hospitalization, Kristina Falkvist therefore hopes her husband will not need treatment again, but it is a risk the couple lives with daily. Precisely for this reason, following the current events surrounding the department makes the couple feel uneasy.

"When you've had this procedure done, you have an agreement that you can come back if further complications should arise," she says.

"It creates a lot of insecurity, because that was the safety net you had: That you knew you could return there and encounter strong professional expertise, and you need that security," says Kristina Falkvist.

Her concern is largely about whether the medical quality will be the same if her husband needs to return to Rigshospitalet's department for transplantation and diseases of the digestive system.

Kristina Falkvist explains how she is worried about the recent stories about the mentioned department at Rigshospitalet.

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Firings and resignations and a new turn

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The case surrounding the highly specialized department at Rigshospitalet has slowly grown larger over the year.

Earlier this year, two surgeons left the department, which is, among other things, the only one performing liver transplants in this country. Subsequently, several senior consultants from the department wrote a letter to Rigshospitalet's management, expressing concern about whether the desired standard at the department could be maintained.

Some of those doctors have since been suspended and subsequently fired.

Yesterday, the case took a new turn when Rigshospitalet's management met with representatives from the Capital Region of Denmark. In a memorandum from the meeting, it is stated that an investigation will be conducted into whether "scientific practice for the documentation of experimental surgery has been neglected."

In an interview with DR News, the regional council chairman, Lars Gaardhøj (Social Democrats), would not elaborate on what the now-fired doctors are suspected of.

"We have received a good account from Rigshospitalet, and one of the things being brought to light is that in some cases we have not lived up to the guidelines that exist, and we must. Therefore, we are now going to investigate this, and we will do so with external assistance."

The investigation raises questions for Bjarne Hjaltalin, who is the chairman of the Danish Association of Senior Hospital Doctors.

"This is completely new information, which was also not present in connection with the dismissals that Rigshospitalet has carried out. Therefore, we are a bit perplexed if this refers back to those cases. I actually don't think it's a proper way to treat the doctors in question," he says.

Kristina Falkvist was taken aback by the information that an investigation will now be launched into whether things were done by the book at the mentioned department. However, she is taking a wait-and-see approach to this development.

"I don't know what kind of investigation is to be initiated, or what practice they are pointing to that may not have been followed."

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