Who is treated in intensive care units when there is a shortage of beds and who is not? This question is hardly regulated by law in Germany. The Federal Constitutional Court has now decided that the so-called triage situation requires specific regulations.
yeah. The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe has decided that the legislature must take precautions «immediately» to protect people with disabilities in the event of so-called triage.
During the corona pandemic, it became clear to everyone that an extremely tense situation in the intensive care units of hospitals can mean that there is no longer a free bed for severe cases of any kind. In this extreme case, the hospital staff would be faced with an extremely difficult decision: who will be treated and who will not? Such a situation is called triage, which is derived from the French word “trier”. This means something like choosing or sorting.
There is no clear legal situation in Germany for triage situations because the legislature has so far remained inactive. So there are no specific legal requirements as to how medical professionals have to deal with such extreme situations.
That is why nine people with disabilities and previous illnesses have now sued the Federal Constitutional Court. With their constitutional complaints, they wanted the legislature to set specific requirements for triage situations, taking into account the interests of the disabled and those with previous illnesses.