- For the first time, Thierry Carrel also comments on his departure from the island and the allegations circulating.
- The heart specialist calls on the island management to act quickly.
- In addition, the financial pressure on the hospital group is increasing.
Thierry Carrel is considered one of the most famous doctors in Switzerland. He enjoys great respect in professional circles as well as among the general population. He worked at the Bern Island Hospital for almost 30 years. He left the archipelago in 2020. He is also part of the group of doctors who recently commented on the tensions at the hospital. “I’m very worried,” the 63-year-old told Radio SRF. “Somethings aren’t going well at the moment.”
The island’s reputation has suffered.
In Carrel’s eyes, the decline in patients that became known last week is worrying. In addition, the island’s reputation suffered – especially in research.
Legend:
The new main building of the Inselspital in Bern opened in 2023.
Keystone/MARCEL BIERI
Carrel refers to a ranking published at the beginning of March by the US news magazine Newsweek, in which the Bern University Hospital is in 207th place, far behind much smaller hospitals. Carrel also considers the reports on company culture to be worrying.
The heart specialist left the archipelago in 2020 – voluntarily, it was said at the time. Carrel confirms today that he had set himself new goals back then. Goals that he could not achieve on the island and in the environment at the time. He does not want to comment further and refers to a declaration of resignation that he signed.
Just this much: “The current allegations of bullying are no stranger to me from my time at Berner Inselspital.” He is amazed at how the island management is currently reacting negatively to criticism. “Problems are negated – and that is problematic in such a large company.”
Worry instead of frustration
Thierry Carrel now operates in Basel, is on the board of directors of the HFR Hospital in Freiburg and travels to Uzbekistan several times a year on humanitarian missions. He is also a local councilor in Vitznau, Lucerne. He denies that he and his medical colleagues chose to go public out of frustration. “I am doing this because of my concerns for this very important institution for the region.”
We are also worried about the number of patients.
Chairman of the Board of Directors Bernhard Pulver can understand Thierry Carrel’s concerns to some extent. “The decline in patient numbers is currently our biggest concern.” But this has nothing to do with the reputation of the archipelago.
Long way to the “top hospital”
Rather, he sees the move to the new main island building, the closure of the hospitals in Münsingen and Tiefenau as well as other projects and the shortage of skilled workers as reasons. “Our goal must be to be one of the leading hospitals in the world,” said the Chairman of the Board of Directors. But the way there is “admittedly still a long way”.
Bernhard Pulver doesn’t want to talk about a bullying culture. But: “The employees are suffering from the economic pressure – but there’s nothing we can do about it.” Pulver points to the tariff situation in which the archipelago is disadvantaged. “The working atmosphere could be better,” he says.
“After moving into the main building and introducing a new IT project, we now want to devote more time to our employees,” promises Pulver. For example, new communication tools and an employee survey are planned for the fall.