After a devastating corona outbreak in a clinic in Schongau, Bavaria, a nurse from the hospital turned to us all in an open letter – and asks for more respect and support.
Corona outbreaks have occurred in several hospitals and nursing homes across Germany in the past few weeks. Patients and employees were also infected in a clinic in Schongau, Bavaria: a total of 93 employees tested positive, and several hundred nurses and doctors had to be quarantined. Since a few of the patients who were infected with the virus during their stay in the clinic have died from it, the criminal investigation department and the public prosecutor are currently investigating the case. In the Schongau population, however, some people have apparently already formed their judgment.
Hostility and allegations against hospital staff
According to "Merkur.de", the hospital staff had been accused of walking through the corridors without masks and protection, but the hospital management rejected this. Hostility such as the fact that employees should be prohibited from using public transport was also making the rounds locally. One of those affected has now reacted publicly.
In the Facebook group "You come from Schongau, if …", the nurse Lars Cramer posted an open letter in which he promoted more respect and understanding for him and his "colleagues".
"From Heroes to Lepers"
"From the point of view of the population and the press, we have turned from the heroes of spring to lepers in the last few weeks," "Merkur.de" quotes from the letter. From the gratitude and appreciation that nurses rightly experienced in the first half of the year, for example in the form of collective applause, there is now little left in his perception. Instead, if there is an outbreak in the healthcare sector, for example, they are more likely to be turned into bogeymen, even though the pressure and burden are immense.
"Many citizens cannot imagine how isolated a caregiver is currently living in order to guarantee the highest level of patient safety," writes Cramer, who has been working in nursing for 21 years. To protect patients, he and his colleagues would have had to do without things throughout the year that others could at least do in summer – for example, traveling or attending events. Nursing staff are not only systemically relevant, but also those who "have to expose themselves to FFP2 masks, fully insulating protective clothing and series tests for all citizens 8-12 hours a day and at night".
In view of the high psychological stress, it is important for Cramer and his colleagues that they at least feel respect and support from others. "Right now, we as nursing staff need the support of the population, for the benefit of our patients. We are there for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for 12 months a year. You can now be our support," writes Cramer. And with that, we think, he really doesn't ask too much …